Welcome back my fellow writers and friends!
Today’s topic is the never-ending quest for perfection. Of course we never achieve it, but that shouldn’t stop us from trying.
I am of the opinion that there is no such thing as wasted writing. Like any other skill or craft, the more you do the more you improve. The last thing in the writing world I wanted to do when I began was articles for content mills. Still, in doing those articles I became a better writer. I had to pay attention to grammar. I had to pay attention to delivering a message within a set number of words. None of it will win me a Pulitzer Prize, but all of it helped me to grow.
I’m willing to bet most of you have some old writing sitting on the proverbial shelf somewhere….a short story you never finished, or a novel that went into a literary coma about halfway through. I have notebooks full of stories that were never finished; they are literally sitting about two feet from where I type daily. One day I will pull those stories out and re-work them, for today I have the skills to finish them and finish them well. That was not true when I started them years ago.
It makes no difference what you write. Every piece of writing that you do helps you to develop into the writer you were meant to be.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Winston Churchill
That Churchill guy should have been a writer. J
TIP OF THE DAY
Try different genres. If you are comfortable writing poetry then step out and write a mystery short story. It may not end up being a great story but it will help you become the writer you were meant to be.
PROMPT OF THE DAY
My latest picture taken with my new camera. Does it speak to you? 200 words, please, using your five senses in describing this picture.
CONTEST OF THE DAY
The Fiction Desk Flash Fiction Competition is now accepting submissions. The story must be between 250 and 1,000 words and the deadline is January 31st. You can read about it here.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Don’t quit a minute before the miracle happens.
I have tried and tried to pound this notion into the heads of writers. Becoming a successful writer is a marathon and not a sprint. Regardless of the fact that online writing and ebooks can make a “writer” out of anyone, they cannot make a “good writer” out of anyone. That still takes work and dedication to the craft of writing.
I have given myself five years to find success. I am in year three of that quest. The novel I am now working on is my greatest piece to date, and when I finish it, whenever that may be, I will be very proud of it. Each word is important….every sentence is crucial. A bridge will collapse if poor materials have been used in the foundation; so it is with writing.
MORE ON THURSDAY
I wish I had time to do one of these every day but I don’t. Reality and time dictate that I only do these twice a week, but I hope you get something valuable out of them when I do write them. We are in this together; any writer who does not understand that truth just hasn’t paid their dues yet.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 