Ebb & Flow (Writing)

Being a writer is never boring.

You are constantly learning and figuring things out. It is like being an archeologist, brushing away layers until you hit something solid and make a discovery.

And I am one of those few people who believe that writing is fun. I mean, why else would you do it – go through the rejection, the uncertainty, the staggered paychecks that arrive after publication (one piece I did late last year isn't being publishd until 2008!).

But it is not always easy.

Each day I go through tremendous ups and downs. Every morning, emails arrive saying that my work wasn’t accepted here, an editor wanting a whole piece changed despite instructing me otherwise, all the while going through computer glitches, email server problems and other daily life occurrences.

But in the same inbox, I might receive an acceptance to a publication that I have been wanting to get into for the last couple of years or that a piece that I wrote 4 years ago and forgot about just got published, without me having to lift a finger.

Over the years, I have become used to this daily ebb and flow of yeses and nos. And living with a television writer, having a father who is a film extra and a good friend who is an actor, I know that this is not exclusive to those who write. Thanks all of these people, including my own experiences, I have learned that:

- The work always comes in at once
- There will be times where you consider whether you should take a “real” job, just to get you through the quiet periods
- You are always striving to get one more piece or move up to something better
- There are days where you feel like you are the best at what you do and then there are days when you want to do anything but.

I am grateful each day for these experiences, for I am learning so much.

Yesterday I found out three pieces I have worked harder on than anything else may not get used at all, as the editor has left and the whole project has fallen apart. But today I got accepted to a publication that I am excited to be writing for and I handed in a big magazine piece a day early, which feels great. So the ebb and flow continues.

Each day brings interesting challenges. I am grateful for all of them. Even the nos.

Sometimes it takes me a day or two, but I get there.

And so will you.