During contemplation, something I do daily, this sentence popped in – “A writer isn’t always right, but will always write.”
And thus began this blogpost.
My husband and I have a joke between us. Over the
years, if we have a different answer or opinion about something, the
conversation can go something like:
Me: “I
think it’s blue.”
Husband:
“No, it’s red.”
Me: “I’m pretty sure it’s blue.”
Husband: “Red.”
Then when we find out the answer, it turns out, I’m
right. The first few times, it seemed like I was just lucky. But 99.9% of the
time, he ends up saying, “You’re right… again.” I can't help it. I seriously don’t
care if I’m right or not. I state my answer. He states his. When he finds out I’m
right and tells me, I now say, “And you doubted me?” We laugh. Okay, maybe he
doesn’t laugh.
Now back to writing… I’m a member of St. LouisWriters Guild, Missouri Writers' Guild, and Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild. I’m not
active in any at the moment. I was quite active in St. Louis Writers Guild
when I first joined. So much so, I think I burned myself out. I did the
e-newsletter, Here’s News! And I fretted and worried and stressed about it so much,
I’m surprised I didn’t create an ulcer or have a heart attack. I’m not sure
anyone realized how much work I put into this… collecting info, putting it in
its proper place, checking and rechecking on formatting, spelling, etc., editing
and revising and on and on. And then if Here’s News! went out and I found a
typo or there was some info that was overlooked, I beat myself up
like__________ well, I have nothing to compare it to. Trust me, I was awful to
myself. One time some other organization chewed me out about something - maybe it was my fault, but it wasn’t something worthy of
being chewed out for… I mean, I was a volunteer, and Here’s News! is free
advertising, and I was doing the best I could. It ended up not being worth my
time and effort and what I was putting myself through. Simply put: I cared too
much. But no one knew that. It’s all on me though. I take full responsibility
for all aspects of all I do. By the way, if you're a writer or interested in writing, you can sign up for Here's News! that gives you lots of info about writing in the St. Louis, MO area.
I'm not sure why it popped in my head – A writer
isn’t always right, but will always write – as it doesn’t seem to be the case with this blog, but I
do write daily. Just ask my cats.
Kitty not feeling it with the hat
Smeagol snoozing
Oh, and if you have time, check out this site.
I wrote something based on a true experience of mine (look for LynnO) and you can also find my writing pal, Linda O on the site too!
My daughter Rita and me (she's the baby in the story)
Lynn--I'm still a bit sad I didn't make it into the "I Will Survive" anthology, but I'm sooooo happy you and Linda were published in it.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the tiny percentage of time when you're wrong is when you cut your own work down.
(And now I'm heading off to where your link takes me...)
Its great to see a post from you, Lynn! I think we tend to be harder on ourselves than anyone else-it certainly is the case with me. :-(
ReplyDeleteYour kitties are adorable! (Love the hat)
Pat
www.patwahler.com
Yep. The cat in the hat ain't feelin' it!
ReplyDeleteI love that beautiful picture of you and your daughter. You are much too critical of your work. You write well, and amaze me with your editorial skills. We survived, and your story was touching.
ReplyDeleteFirst, that picture is amazing. I hope you have it framed somewhere in your home. Second, great article on the Survive site. You gave me chills. Oh, my...the things we teach our children... And third, those cats are adorable! AND, I'm glad to see you posting again!
ReplyDelete