Monday, November 10, 2008

My Running Shoes

At church yesterday, the pastor talked about going that extra mile for God. The first mile is the easy one--but the second one is the one that takes commitment and perseverance.

I can't help but think how his thoughts relate to writing. I write a story and submit. Then I submit it again and again and sometimes I finally toss it away in frustration.

Many of us (me included) don't always want to do the edits a piece requires to get published. We don't want to read the articles or writers magazines or attend a writers group to learn the craft. We wrote the story and that should be enough.

And sometimes, we give up totally and convince ourselves writing isn't our gift.

Commitment and perseverance.

The writer's road requires plenty of both. I recently discovered through personal experience that the art of sending out queries isn't as easy as I assumed it would be. An agent didn't scoop me up one day later,(nor two months later!) nor did a publisher when I sent out a synopsis of what I thought would be the perfect fit for their needs.

The road to writing means going that extra mile to make your work the best you can make it--even if it means running into some stumbling blocks along the way.

Now today I'm putting on my best sneakers and continuing the race. Will you join me?

13 comments:

Angie Ledbetter said...

Yep, will be glad to. But I'm wearing army boots instead of tennis shoes! :)

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

You bet! It's Monday and I have a new pair of running shoes, warmed up and raring to go!

KelliGirl said...

Terri,
Great post! Persevering can be so difficult...Quitting so easy. I'm writing an article on this very thing. I'm sure the submission process will test my ability to press on.

Blessings!

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

I haven't had my running shoes on in days. Last week took my breath away. Thankfully, with a heavy dose of spiritual CPR, I'm up and running again, albeit slow and with a few extra "pounds" to shed.

Keep to it.

peace~elaine

Anonymous said...

Great post! It was exactly what I needed to read. Today, I took a personal day off with my husband (he has a final in one of his classes) and I thought I would, well, just take a day off. I have received much criticism lately for my work (writing), good and bad. But to me, the bad criticism is the best because it helps me learn more of what I need to succeed.

Putting on those tennis shoes as we speak and getting ready for a day of writing and revisions.

Pat's Place said...

That editing and re-editing is the tough part for me!

Melissa Amateis said...

I'm absolutely going to join you! Another inspirational post. Thanks, Terri!

Vickie said...

Great post again Terri. I am off and running with you, picking up some things that I set down a while ago.

Thanks again for your encouragement.


Vickie

Rick said...

Can we stop a lot so that I can catch my breath?

Hello again Terri Tiffany Inspirational Writer! I noticed that you paid me the honor of visiting my blog, and doubled that honor by becoming a follower. Thank you very much - truly!

Stay "tooned." There's plenty more doodlings to come.

Kasie West said...

Great post Terri. Thanks for the inspiration and reminder that things worth having are things worth fighting for.

Yolanda said...

I can't help but think of persevering with covering our Nation and those in an office in prayers to THE ONE TRUE GOD.

I enjoy how your writing points my thoughts to Christ.

Jenna said...

Yes I will!

Thank you for this Terri...I needed a reminder that my writing isn't going to come out right the first time...that I will take a stab at making it better in the second pass (or mile two ;).

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