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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

IWSG: Life's Weird Curves


Can it be the first Wednesday of the month again? Then it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group where writers can let all our insecurities hang out and someone (many someones) will offer suggestions, support, and understanding. A big THANKS to Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh for starting this group and keeping it going. And to this month's awesome hosts Tina Downey, Elsie, Elizabeth Seckman, and Julie Flanders!



Yesterday, my niece posted this on Facebook: 



What a powerful quote. Does life ever go our way? Sometimes. Many times not. So what do we do when life throws us unexpected curves? We could give up. Or we could change tack, adjust our sails.

I’d like to think that I wouldn’t give up no matter what comes my way. I’ve weathered some pretty good storms—my family’s health, my own, financial worries, deaths of loved ones, the demise (or so I thought) of my writing career. I’ve had to make adjustments but, in the end, I came out okay.

Look at the palm trees. How they weather hurricane winds. They bend but don’t break.

If we’re writing with the intention of being published, we’re bound to be rejected. Oh, not us personally—our work. If we don’t get rejections from editors or agents, reviewers can do the job. That should keep us from getting too big for our britches (as my grandmother would say). How we deal with rejection or the rest of life’s curves is more important.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.


Off topic: This is “Read an E-Book Week.” Visit my previous post to find out how I’m celebrating.

30 comments:

  1. Amen! Sometimes it just takes awhile to adjust those sails. :) I'm also learning that writing with the sole purpose of getting published isn't worth it. There has to be a deeper reason, something that makes the journey worthwhile regardless of where we end up.

    Great post!

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    1. Great point, Charity. Enjoying the journey is so important. Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. How about finding a pair of britches that are just my size?

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  3. Good post. Loved the part about the writing. :)

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  4. Writing is such a personal thing that rejection is also taken personally. I had a really hard time with my first rejection, but now, almost 2 months later, I realize it was for the best.

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    1. Sure it hurts. We pour our hearts into our work. Sometimes, though, rejection tells us something we need to hear.

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  5. So true! We must learn to lean into the wind rather than try to fight against it.

    Elsie
    AJ's wHooligan in the A-Z Challenge
    co-host IWSG

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  6. Just what I needed today, Diane. Thank you. Think I'll join this group. Florence suggested it, I'm going to do it!

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    1. I'm glad, Margo. I think you'll get a lot out of it.

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  7. Oh I loved that quote! I might need to print that one out, actually. The other thing about the palm trees is that even when they're being blown by the wind, they're still reaching for the sun :)

    AJ @ Naturally Sweet
    An A-Z Cohost
    @ayjaylauer

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    1. You are so right, AJ, about reaching for the sun. Thanks for coming by.

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  8. Great quote.

    This was the second blog I've read today about rejection. It must be in the air, plus it seems almost written for me. I'm about the set my sails in the direction of publication and I'll be getting that hefty does of rejection.

    Thanks for the post.

    Leanne Ross ( readfaced.wordpress.com & @LeanneRossRF )

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    1. Good luck with publication. It's not for the faint of heart.

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  9. Nice quote. I'd like to add that it should say something about not letting the wind blow you over.

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  10. Adjust my sails...I need to remember that! Great quote.

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  11. That reminds me of the old song about the branches bending in the wind (Tanya Tucker song??). I think we always adjust our sails with the wind...it just feels like the wind is a hurricane or always pushing when there really is only a little.

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    1. When we're in the middle of a wind, it can feel like a hurricane. Only when we look back does it seem not so bad.

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  12. Great post! Very inspiring. We can't let stuff like rejections break us, that's for sure.

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  13. Hi Diane,

    Great post, and thanks for the heads-up reagarding ebook reading week!

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  14. Last year round about June onwards, I sent out 8 pieces to different e-zines. By years end I received 8 rejections.
    I thought... so what??? There'll be another time.
    My sails have been adjusted... I WILL KEEP ON going forward... one way or another!
    Writer In Transit


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    1. Good for you, Michelle. You just haven't found the right home for your articles.

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  15. Perseverance and persistence in the face of adversity-- that's what makes a writer. Or a human being, for that matter.

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