This week, I yet again learned the value of patience. I also (again) learned that life is something that happens when you plan something else (to paraphrase a colleague).
As a writer, my first goal should be to tell stories. Everything else is secondary. This includes being published and receiving feedback on pieces. And this is where the patience comes in.
I recently applied for another position at work that I believed would make me happy. I focused so much on it, and blew it completely out of proportion in my mind (and just about detached from my current position because of it) that, when I was told the position was restructured yet again and I am not currently suitable for it, it left me completely shattered. After some thought, and conversation with someone who knows me fairly well, I realised that the position is simply not suitable for me, not the other way around. Of course I would pour my heart and soul into it, but it would not challenge me at all, and I would end up resenting it. Sometimes, we focus so much on the ideals we create in our heads that they become larger than life and unmanageable.
And, as a (fiction) writer, this is vitally important to remember at all times. We are story tellers first, and that should be our goal. Again, everything else is secondary.
Of course, when one starts reading all the writing-related blogs, there is this sense of urgency that wells up inside, replacing the urge to write with the urge to get published. Of course, in order for our stories to be heard by as many people as possible, it is best that the story does, eventually get published. And, once the first one is published (and does well, I should probably add), there is additional pressure to produce more. But one should not lose sight of the important things, like doing the actual writing.
2 comments:
Indeed you are most right, the sense of urgency in many ways clouds the focus of an individual and restricts the outcome. This I know all too well... ;)
Emotion is a wonderful thing at the best of times, but when the desire overwhelms the being so as not to allow them to experience consciously/fully ( mind, body and soul! ) because they are focused elsewhere, it isn't such a good thing.
Yes, it is far too easy to get caught up in writing as competitive sport. Especially if you tell people you are a writer. Then every time they see you they want to know, "Have you sold another story?" or "How is your book doing? Is it selling well?" Those are difficult questions to answer if you aren't producing, and what ordinary mortal would understand and take you seriously if you said, "It's not about the money. It's about my passion for writing, and I don't care if I sell stories."
Yeah, right. Real Writers publish! The public knows this.
Thanks for helping True Blue Riters stay focused.
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