It's 2013 and despite the discussions last year that the world was going to end on December 21, we're still here. Does that mean we've all been given a second chance?
Sometimes we feel we've been thrown in the deep end of life and something bad has happened that rips our confidence out of the core of us. Have you ever been in that place? I guarantee every person on this planet has been there and sometimes it hurts so bad, we wonder if we will ever recover.
I don't know about you, I believe in second chances, or third or fourth. When I've been knocked down I have the choice to reach out and take hold of whatever is offered, a hand, rope, inner strength, whatever you want to call it, and know that I can get up and try again, or I can choose to wallow in my own self pity and let life pass me by.
Yes, you have worked your heart out in 2012 to write that novel and you received a rejection from the agent or publisher of your dreams just before Christmas. So now you feel you just can't get out of bed because you feel you've failed. Have you failed? Or you got the rejection because the market isn't ready for your work, or maybe you might just need a little more time to practise and hone your craft? When a publisher or agent says 'no', it's easy to feel hurt and unappreciated. Feeling hurt and unappreciated is the writer's life. Writers need to grow a thick skin.
When I started my writing career, I wrote five books. Hours and hours of time sitting at my desk handwriting, and typing my stories up on a portable typewriter, then I graduated to a basic wordprocessor and then came the computer. I lost contact with friends, I had to write ... nobody understood why I had to write. Some of my friends still don't understand why I leave the real world to enter my imaginary world to tap on a keyboard. I need to write every day, so that I feel sane and calm at the end of the day. It's an inner obsession I just can't ignore or I'm difficult to live with. Early in my writing career my compulsion had been fed, but my work was still being rejected. Why?
Rejection means I'll try harder next time.
In my next post I'm going to share how I overcame rejection and continued the journey into my writing life. Until then, keep writing!! Don't give up!!
Are you in the doldrums with your writing? Unsure of where to turn next? I'd like to hear from you. This year I want to help you achieve your writing dreams.