Don’t Try to Do It All

 

Are you trying to do it all?

Not long ago, Ann Kathryn Kelly shared an article with the rest of our accountability group. We oohed and aahed and that isn’t surprising. “Lived In and Loved: Unique Design Concepts Driven by Art and Psychology” in the March 2024 issue of Portsmouth City Lifestyle has it all. In addition to Ann’s byline and powerful prose, it is full of gorgeous photos. I just want to crawl inside and explore! 

But I’m not going there. Obviously, I can’t literally crawl inside the photos but I’m not going to try to follow Ann’s steps and write a piece for a posh city lifestyles magazine either. As much as I love going to open houses and drooling over photos like these, for the most part I cannot write about home décor. Words escape me. 

It may be that I simply don’t know enough. Perhaps if I studied decorating, I could write these kinds of pieces. But that’s okay. Ann, I’m gifting them to you. You do this type of writing so well! I just don’t have the fire to do justice to these types of projects. 

And that’s one clue whether a writing project is something you should pursue. If you are passionate about it, go for it! 

I recently puzzled through how the Apollo lunar lander, command module and rocket worked together. I really needed to know how the lunar lander survived the journey, perched as it is below the nozzle exit cone for the command module. Yeah, I care enough to make sure that it is actually called a nozzle exit cone. 

But decorating terminology? I know the correct terms for paint finishes and that’s about it. It is simply not one of my passions. 

The reality of writing is that there are dozens if not hundreds of different things that you can write. Are you interested in fiction? Do you want to write for adults or young readers? Romance? Romantasy? Cozy mysteries? Or perhaps you’re into speculative fiction? Or maybe you prefer to write nonfiction. Again, you could write for adults and/or young readers. There are how-to pieces as well as science, gardening, lifestyle, and a whole lot more. 

Every type of writing that you do is going to have a learning curve. You will have to learn the appropriate jargon and the expectations that go along with that type of writing. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with your audience and the market. That sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? 

A lot of effort goes into writing well. And none of us has the energy or the will to do it all. 

If you want to try something new, sign up for a WOW class. Tomorrow is Renee Roberson’s video course, Introduction to True Crime Writing. I’ve signed up although I’m going to have to catch the replay. My thought is that I may be able to use this to improve my mysteries. Who knows? I may discover a new passion. 

Check out WOW’s list of courses and workshops. There’s sure to be something, perhaps travel writing, Chicken soup essays, or my own nonfiction, that piques your interest. But don’t be surprised when you look at some of the courses and think, “Nah, that’s just not for me.” 

None of us has to do it all. 

--SueBE

Sue Bradford Edwards' is the author of 50 books for young readers.  

• To find out more about her writing, visit her site and blog, One Writer's Journey.  
• Click here to find her newsletter.

She is also the instructor for 3 WOW classes which begin again on  March 4, 2024. 
She teaches:

• Pitching, Querying and Submitting Your Work 
• Research: Prepping to Write Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults 
• Writing Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults