Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Don't Obsess Over Mistakes In Your Writing Past

I love that scene in Lion King with Rafiki just nails Simba in the head with his stick. After being asked why he did it, Rafiki simply tells Simba not to worry about it. It was in the past.

Look, we all make mistakes in life. We make mistakes with directions we decide to take with our writing careers. However, we cannot simply look at how someone else was successful over a mistake you made or a decision you chose not to take. For some reason, at that time, it was not in the cards for you. Spending time looking back on that mis-step is simply going to cause you to slow down in looking forward.

Again, I am going to one of my favorite Disney movies (OK, I get it is Pixar but hey, Disney owns everything).

Edna so has this figured out! The present is where your writing is. The future is where you are going. 

You need to set some goals for yourself. If a story you wrote that has been rejected in the past is still nagging at you, put it away. Learn from what you did in that story and craft something new. Quit trying to fix something in the past.

If your critique partner entered a contest you skipped out on, and then found out that everyone who entered got a free critique or even an opportunity to submit to that dream editor or agent, quit being jealous and move on! Celebrate with your CP and look to the future.

This business is always changing and always evolving. Your skipping out on a decision was a step toward something greater. The odds are, you were not ready to move on.

Just some motivation for the middle of the week!

1 comment:

  1. I needed motivation. Thanks! Today's post motivated me to ask the two questions I've been putting off.

    1. Is there much of a market for Historical Romance that is not too steamy? Something in the realm of PG13 – "it" happens but not a lot of details. More sexual tension than graphic information. A couple blogs I've been following say that Historical Romance has to be Rated R or no sale.

    2. Will you ever create a Udemy online course? If so, please let us know.

    Thanks! for all the helpful information and instructive replies. Kate M.

    ReplyDelete