The Journey

Good morning one and all, it's journey day once again.

Do you ever underestimate your abilities as a writer?

I wonder how many writers do this? I definitely do.

Sometimes I almost have to get smacked upside the head before I wake up.

I read a comment by a successful short story writer named Kris Babe in Poets & Writers Magazine (who was supporting himself and his family through his writing income) and he said he didn't think he was better than a lot of the other writers he'd met, just more persistent. He said he just kept sending out his stories until they were published and that he'd met more talented writers that gave up way too soon.

I found his comments interesting because having guts and being resilient and determined make a lot of difference to how people approach and succeed in this world.

It is a myth that great writers are 'discovered' almost instantly.

It is also a myth that writing is an elitist profession only done well by a small group of special people.

Writing is hard work, but it's work like any other kind of work.

Margaret Atwood, J. K. Rowling and many others have been rejected by publishers on countless occasions. We all have to start somewhere--yes, at the beginning.

I think that one of the mistakes I make is comparing my writing skills to other people rather than to myself. It's been several years now that I have been writing freelance and I should compare my writing now to what I was producing 7 years ago and realize how much more I know now.

Every writer has their own experience and background and likes and dislikes that they bring into their career.

Writers, in other words, each have their own universe. My writing universe won't be like anyone else's, nor should it be. But is it growing, progressing and am I getting more confident and stronger with every project I complete?

Those are the important questions. If the answer is yes, then I should throw caution to the wind and go for it. If the answer is no, I should take some courses and retrain myself to gain whatever confidence I'm lacking.

I'm happy to say the answer is yes.

So my journey now begins with a plan--just do it!