When I think back on this year, there are a couple milestones that stand out. I signed with my agent, the wonderful Molly Jaffa, in June, and just last month, I finished the first draft of my fourth manuscript.
But your great success doesn't have to be an agent or a book deal. Maybe you typed THE END on your first manuscript. Maybe you got ace feedback from a beta reader. Maybe you tortured your characters so much you wondered how they'd ever recover. (Okay, I'm guilty of this last one.)
As writers, we spend so much time stressing out, second-guessing, and putting our work down. I've sent emails to (and received emails from) critique partners with subject lines like "scene of DOOM plz help" and "I hate this chapter." I don't know why I'm so hesitant to accept that I've produced work I love, that I'm deeply proud of, that I can't wait to share with the world.
Just take it from this kid:
Think back on the past year. You have undoubtedly created something awesome. So, tell me: what writing-related accomplishment are you proud of in 2013?
LOVE this! Yay for 2013! I can definitely relate to feeling stressed out and second-guessing my writing. For some reason, that feeling of accomplishment is fleeting. But I'm taking this kid's advice! I'm giving myself a thumbs up and I'm going to keep on typing!! My 2013 proud moments: Getting my WIP to some awesome beta readers and finishing 50K for NaNoWriMo! :) :)
ReplyDeleteThumbs up for rock and roll! HA! This kid is awesome and it does remind me to be proud of the positives that I experienced in 2013. My proudest moment came just last month: finally being able to say that my MS is as good as I can get it and drafting out a new MS for 2014. :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right- we writers are hard on ourselves! So, in focusing on the positives, here are 3 awesome feats for me: 1) Signed with my wonderful agent 2) Outlined and started a new WIP 3) Joined an amazing new critique group *waves to RWers* and started blogging again. <3
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