Oh So Simpatico!

Do you sometimes feel like you?re the only one singing your praises as a writer?  You know you?ve got skills.  So why doesn?t everyone else see it?  What in the world is wrong with each and every publisher, editor, agent or contest judging panel that you?ve contacted?  Don?t they know talent when they read it?!?  I too have felt this way before.  There have been seasons in my life where it seemed that no one else could appreciate what I thought were some of the best words strung together in a sentence since the beginning of mankind.  Of course I exaggerate, but I believe you may have an idea of the point that I?m trying to make.  And in case it has escaped you, it is merely this:  I think I?m all that, and then some!

Of course it is okay to have a healthy respect for ones? own works.  And it is even okay to entertain the idea that you?re the best writer that you know.  But where does the line of pipe dream and reality become so blurred that you can?t differentiate between the two?

Some time ago, I had a thought-provoking conversation with boyfriend that galvanized me and stirred up feelings in me that I did not realize were inherent.  After hearing about my dreams of being a full-fledged paid writer, and reading some of my works (and yes, he sings my praises as a writer), he stated in a matter-of-fact manner ?You should do something with this; you should get this published.?  It was a simple statement, but I knew what it meant.  And without meaning to, he assumed what so many others have done: If you?re so good, why aren?t you published? 

Easier said than done.  But don?t think I haven?t tried.

I carefully explained to him that not being published does not not make me a writer, nor does it mean that I?m not trying.  And for all the perseverance and talent in the world that I may be so bold as to think I have, I can?t force a contest judge, publisher, editor or agent to think any more of me as a writer than what my writing represents.  Writing is so very subjective.  I?ve received a few rejection letters . . . okay, more than a few?enough to wallpaper my entire freakin? basement!  But does that mean that I stop trying?  No.  It means I move on.  And just because progress isn?t being made in the forefront doesn?t mean there isn?t movement in the background.

So to all of my fellow wordsmiths and likeminded lovers of the written word I say this:  Believe in yourself and keep it real.  You can move slow, and those movements can sometimes be unsure; but whatever you do, just keep on moving.  After all . . . no matter what they think, you're still a writer.