Dear me,
So you've made it through another year, and now you've
retreated to the pen (or the word processor) to reflect. "Making it
through" the year carries baggage, most of it negative, as if the
year were a slog through a swamp of unwanted events clinging to you
like mud. But, this is about more than just the year you've had,
but the year yet to come. So, let's grab 2017 by the lips and yank
as hard as we can!
Let's be honest. You didn't really have
much in the way of goals last year. It was too busy, too chaotic, too
full of nooks and crannies where excuses lurk like cockroaches, ready
to scurry underfoot and trip us up just as we're pivoting to a new
course of action. What held us back? Was it life? Was it love? Was it
work? Was it our own frailty? The answer is - yes! All of the
above! But it doesn't have to be this way. Life can be like a sled:
we can try to carry it on our backs like we are beasts of burden, or
we can set it down and ride it down the slope. I'm not saying it
will always be a free ride, but much of what we make happen in our
lives rides on our perspective. And that's what I'm trying to
impart to you here; some perspective.
So, what did we accomplish last year? Let's focus on this craft
we are trying to develop - the written word. You enjoy writing,
don't you? So what did you accomplish? You didn't write that
novel, you didn't publish that short story. And it wasn't
completely for lack of trying, but your efforts were still somewhat
wanting.
Let's start with the short story. You did submit one short
fiction for publication, and it was rejected. Yes, it was
discouraging, and confidence-sapping. But, do you know who else got
rejected early in their careers? Every writer ever! Rejection stories
are more the rule, rather than the exception, and you are no
different. Are you not convinced that your craft is sufficient? You
have written dozens of stories, some of which you posted online, many
of which have been recognized by online communities as well-written
and inspired, and a few that even won contests. Is that not enough?
Is it too painful to throw yourself onto the tender mercies of
indifferent editors, hoping that yours will be the jewel among the
pebbles littering their slush piles?
As for the novel, haven't you had a wealth of ideas? Isn't
your imagination populated by characters so varied, so interesting,
so alive that you are just as interested in getting to know
them as any real person you've ever met? Aren't they real
to you? Don't you hold the patterns in your mind for the tapestries
upon which you will weave the fates of these characters? Aren't you
bursting to put this all down on paper?
Perhaps ability and inspiration are not the issue. Perhaps it is
volition. The hardest thing to do in any writing project is to
actually sit down. Funny isn't it, that the biggest obstacle
to creating your masterpiece is the one thing it takes no skill
whatsoever to do. But you are on your way. You have committed to
putting at least 1000 words per day on paper, and so far this year,
you haven't failed. Keep it up for the next week, then the next
month, and finally the next year, building up speed like a train.
Make the commitment, stay the course, and who knows how far this
train will go?
Perhaps the most compelling story will be the one you are writing
right now, the one you are telling just by being alive. Like the
fictional stories you have written, the ending remains mysterious
until you get there. You won't know the characters until you meet
and get to know them. You will be on the edge of your seat, turning
page after page, wondering what comes next. That is what life is
about! If life imitates art, let your art imitate life. The two exist
on either side of a mirror that you can pass through at will. Beg,
borrow, or steal at will from one side to supply the other, and weave
that rich tapestry on both sides of the mirror. I promise you it will
be worthwhile.
I won't claim to know what will happen next, but you will build
- and then cross - that bridge when you come to it. Commit to
publishing something, anything. Even if it's just one little short
story, that success will be the foundation on which you will build
the rest. Commit to that 1000 words (or more), to make it a habit,
something as natural as breathing. Commit to sitting down.
That's the only way you will be able to crawl, walk, and finally
run to your goals. Commit to sharing a story with the world through
print media. Commit to writing that novel. At 1000 words per day,
that should be easily done. You have the ideas in your head, now make
it reality.
I wish you the best year you've ever had, and a successful one.
You have a lot going on in your life, but that means you will have a
lot of material to borrow from, to pull across that mirror and
populate the landscape. Don't neglect it. And, see you on the other
side.
Sincerely Yours,
Graham (from 2016)
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