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Let go: Editor's Notes #423 August 14, 2024 |
| Hello, —Audrey Owen In this issue: 1. Let go 2. Tickled my funny bone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 1. Let go In many areas of life we are admonished to "let go."
I’m sure you can think of other situations when letting go is called for. Letting go is often terrifying. We hang in air untethered like the trapeze artist who has let go of one support to reach for another. The good thing is that letting go leaves room for something new. When I let go of several filing cabinets full of paper, I left room for a keyboard I had been yearning for. When circumstances forced me to leave not only a job I loved, but also a community I felt comfortable in, I moved into a whole new set of opportunities I could never have dreamed of. And how many of us let go of training wheels on a bicycle and took off to explore the world beyond our driveway or block. This is about letting go of writing. Not of all writing, but perhaps of a writing project that in the cold hard light of day is stalled or that is not making the impression you had hoped on agents or publishers. Not everything we write will be published. Sometimes not even our most cherished pieces make it over the finish line. My experience has been varied. One time, a writing instructor told me a piece I had written was implausible even though it was a truthful account of something that happened. I tucked it into a folder, and a few years later, made it a gem in the midst of other gems in a writing contest that won me hard cash when I was still questioning whether I really could "write". Another time, research on a writing project stalled for seven years. I thought everything else was done, and I kept pushing for the research piece I was missing. Over that time, I came across other changes the rest of the book needed, and in the end of the seven years, with the research complete, I had a truly excellent book. Those filing cabinets of paper I sent to recycling were primarily writing projects that I chose to knock on the head. They all lacked something. Some had no real character development. Some were just a string of events with no compelling theme. Some were just embryos that had never revealed what they were meant to be. They all took up space in my house and, I discovered, in my mind. With them gone, I could move on to other, more fulfilling projects. And a quick word about digital files. These also take up space. It’s just different space. Letting some of them go can also free us to move on. I caution you against throwing away the idea of writing altogether. Unless you really hate the process of writing, keep writing. There are many venues and potential projects waiting to be discovered. Letting go of things that are not productive or helpful leaves us free to explore other aspects of our art. As you clear out the clutter, I wish you wonderful surprises. =========== 2.Tickled my funny bone I hate it when people can't let go of the past. Debt collectors are the worst. =========== 3. Interesting Web site See what the Harvard Business Review has to say about letting go and holding on to projects. https://hbr.org/2018/09/when-to-stick-with-something-and-when-to-quit =========== 4. Writing prompt What might you let go of? What might be the result? Write about it. I would love to see the result, so send it along. =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.) =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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