January 6th and time to take down the decorations. Doesn’t everything seem dull and dismal? I miss the lights from the neighbourhood displays and I know the valley will be darker and more dismal than unusual tonight. Sometimes I feel like that about writing. I’m in a dark, dismal place without a chink of light. What’s the point? Should I give it all up? Take up crochet or learn to play golf? I haven’t so far.
So what is it that keeps us writers going, just as we puggle through the dark days of January? Is it the knowledge that things will get better? For when winter comes, spring is never far behind. And is the message the same for writers? Keep working on the craft and you will get better. Reshape the story that failed to get on the long list and send it out again.
I recently sent out a reshaped story that had been rejected twice before. It won a prize. Yes, it was a sharper story and it also appealed to this particular judge.
And that novel won’t attract any attention stuck in a file on the computer. It may need rewriting, the change of point of view or an additional plot line. That will take time, of course but isn’t all that initial hard work worth another chance?
So, if anyone asks me what my writer’s New Year’s Resolution is it’s just that; get my work out there. Edit all those drafts. Reshape the stories. Find the outlets and have some fun. Who knows what will blossom once the darkness diminishes.
