Moving Write Along

2 Tim. 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
***

No friends it’s not a typo! The free creative writing course, F2K , is moving WRITE along. Writers are all writing, friends are being made and the creative juices are flowing in an endless stream of thought and consciousness.

We’re on Lesson three and this is the tell tale lesson. This is the lesson where the folks either give up or keep on trekking in the writing course. I like to see everyone complete the seven week course but life happens a lot of times, people get sick, they get sidetracked, and a writing course becomes second in line to the more important things in life.

I’ve noticed that a lot in life. People become so absorbed with ‘other’ things that they forget what is most important and right in their faces. They question the path, doubt their beliefs, place materials above the one thing that needs to remain constant in ones life, and that is your faith.

Without faith, you’re path is going to be a miserable road to nowhere, full of pebbles, rocks and sometimes boulders that will hinder you from going anywhere. I like to think that when someone enters a writing course, that something deep inside was guiding them to take this path and that they would listen to the inner call to take on writing as if it was handed to them from the Divine One that leads them.

I watch as a lot of writers lack the faith and confidence in themselves. I see one woman stray from writing because she fears sharing her work with others. I watch others after years of study and hard wok, still doubt the very gift that they have within their clutch. An excellent writer, but her lack of confidence has shattered her dream of ever becoming a success in the writing world.

Isn’t  it enough for you to write, receive accolades from your peers, be lifted up by their words of pleasure and joy in reading your work? Why would anyone doubt their own work with all of this positive influx of feedback? Because faith is what is going to carry you.

Trust in your ability! Have faith that you were meant to do this. Not this-that-and-the-other thing! Writing is a God given talent. One of my sons, so called friends, mocked him when he said he was a writer, “Anyone can write!” she taunted. I’m here to clarify and verify for you, that NO, not ANYONE can write. A writer writes! Others spell correctly (possibly) and form sentences but it takes a writer to bring those words and sentences alive!

Moving right along... Writers WRITE RIGHT!

Rejection

A Second Chance!

Okay, we’ve learned that we are passionate about writing, we know what it is going to take (persistence) we know that in the end we’ll have a polished story ready for submission. Now what do we do from here?

Well, we go over our work and fix it up for the editor. Hand him/her a polished piece of art so he can show it to the world and be proud of the choice they made in deciding to pick YOUR story for publication. But suppose they reject it?

Oh dear, I think this is what all writers fear the most and that is the face of rejection. For some reason a rejection from an editor makes us feel like somehow we’ve failed. That is what rejection has stood for all these years whether a parent rejects you, a boyfriend or anyone for that matter rejects you, you drink it down like a dose of failure. It has slapped you in the face and there is no medicine for the cure when you’re a writer. (There is no medicine PERIOD for rejection.)

When one strives so hard to succeed, we feel like failure has come over us like a dark soggy cloud draping its gloom over our head in the mirror of rejection. But as writer’s we NEED rejection. We need to be told that our work just isn’t up to par so we can work to make it better.
When a parent says, "Your best isn’t good enough." We will run and hide in our bedrooms and linger in self-doubt for ages, UNLESS we say to ourselves "My best IS good enough, but I can do even BETTER!"

This is what writer’s do when an editor tells them their work isn’t what they need. We writer’s seek out who DOES need our story, we make it so perfect that it squeaks like vinyl! Shiny and perfect our work is handed to the right person, at the right time, and is taken out of our hands and fed to the world like an ant on sugar. It has been bitten, liked, and now published.

Our walls become a place tacked with the art of rejection. With each new note, our collage grows and soon the entire wall is covered in rejection notes. But instead of looking at the wall as a wall of failure, see it as opportunity! It is a wall of chances to do better!

How many times do you think that a football player (or any sports player) said to themselves, "If I only had one more shot, just one more chance?" They don’t get the second chance that writer’s get. Their shot or play is FINAL! But in the writing world, rejection slips are our SECOND CHANCE!

So what are you waiting for? We’ve eliminated the fear, now on to our next rejection!

Happy Second Chances!