When I looked ahead at my posting date today, I wondered what I would say. I didn't have words of wisdom from writing lessons learned these past few weeks. In all honesty, I just haven't been writing that much. At least, not creatively.
To inspire myself, I looked over a few posts that I wrote last year and came across this gem of a piece that talked about celebrating small successes. This time last year I was getting rejection letters that seemed really positive. In my blog post, I encouraged people to keep submitting and to celebrate any successes along the way.
After reading this post, I wondered which story I might have been talking about, and realized something pretty amazing -
The very story that had been rejected last year had been accepted by a literary magazine a couple of months ago.
Isn't that something?
Despite my lack of motivation to write, I have been trying to submit a few stories. I keep getting rejection letters, which is hard because I believe in the stories I'm trying to get published. However, reading this post from last year reminded me that it's worth it to keep trying. It's worth it to keep submitting. You just never know when that story will receive the acceptance it deserves.
And lately, as this whirlwind of a year draws to a close, I encourage you to keep trying. Keep writing. Keep submitting. And don't forget - this year isn't over yet! You may just get a plot twist in your life that you have desperately needed.
Hope is never totally lost, and as long as you have a breath in your chest, it's important to keep moving forward. Writing one word in front of another. So, if you are struggling to find something to feel hopeful about, I'm sure you aren't alone. Everyone is struggling these days. I just encourage you to not feel too defeated for too long. Because you just never know what might be around the corner.
5 comments:
Exactly what I needed to hear. Got myself all geared up to query last week but WHOA. Each agent wants something completely different. Sent off #1. While working on #2 (who wants an exclusive), I get a rejection from #1.
So I stomped off to crochet. And then cleaned out a closet.
Thank you for the push!
Nicole:
How cool that the story found a place! :)
Thanks for the inspiration Nicole. Yes, keep writing, keep submitting, keep moving forward. If we do, even during our struggle writing days, we will in time reap the rewards.
You are so right in that you have to keep going. I'm so happy you pushed forward and found a home for that story! I have one story that I worked SO hard on that never seemed to go anywhere, and now that I have a podcast, I think I'm going to use it for a bonus episode. So you never know how you can eventually use what you create!
Yep, you never know, Nicole. And therein lies the fun. :-)
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