Keep Going in the Face of Rejection

I’ve watched so many writer friends struggling with rejections lately, and I feel their discouragement and pain. It’s hard to pick yourself up and keep going when you’re continually hearing No, No, No, or worse yet, no feedback at all.

When I came across this comment on Margie Lawson’s site, I thought it was worth sharing:

“I made a commitment to myself that no matter what happened with my writing life, I would be okay. I think we need to remind ourselves that it’s the trying that matters most. That shows courage and faith. We are at our very best when we try, so I would have been darned proud of myself whether or not I got published.”  ~Kieran Kramer

If we can adopt an attitude like this, we’ll keep pursuing our craft, keep putting words down on paper, keep remembering our dream. Not our dream of being published, but our dream of being writers, of expressing ourselves, of crafting new worlds, of making sense out of life.

Hands Around the World

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

I’m so excited about several recent projects. As many of you know, I spent my early years in Africa, so I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to work on two Africa-related projects.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

The first one is an English reading book for students in Ethiopia. I finished final edits today and received jpgs of two watercolor illustrations.

The artist is an instructor at Addis Ababa University. Wish I could share the art, but I don’t want to run into any copyright issues, so instead I’m sharing photos of the setting, courtesy of Peace Corps volunteer, Neen Talbott, who helped me throughout the project.

I couldn’t have done this project without her. She sent pictures, answered questions, confirmed details, read first and final drafts, and shared the final work with others in her town of Gimbi** to be sure they liked it.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

It was great working with Neen, but the best part was discovering that she’s also a wonderful writer and a kindred spirit.

Neen was also kind enough to agree to an interview, which I’m posting here. So here’s a brief introduction to the amazing Janeen Talbott.

Where are you from?
I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in south Florida (West Palm Beach).

How did you get interested in the Peace Corps?
I got interested in the Peace Corps when I did a story about its anniversary for my college newspaper. After talking to people who were in the process of applying, or had already served, I decided to take the plunge.
What projects are you working on now?
I just finished a Global Youth Service Day(s) project. Students rallied around to pick up trash on the school grounds, we hung a tree swing and will be decorating old oil barrels in order to use them as garbage cans.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

I also have a teacher’s English club, tutor aspiring nuns (ages 17-21), help a deaf boy in the town make greeting cards, and run an English teacher’s mentorship program.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

What do you do for fun during your time off?
Honestly, I sleep and talk to family when I have time off. If I’m not too tired, I read and draw.

How has being in Ethiopia changed your worldview?
Ethiopia has changed my worldview by helping me to understand how fortunate I am. It has also taught me that being fortunate comes with a responsibility. It is my duty to share what I have whether it be knowledge, skills or a kind word.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

What do you hope to do in the future?
I hope to go to graduate school and one day have my own non-profit organization.

Please tell us a bit about your writing.
My writing is straight from the heart. I do it, mostly for my family and for my sanity. Lately, I haven’t written because I’ve been so busy, but I hope to return to my blog and continue sharing with those who wish to indulge.

If you’d like to learn more about Neen and her experiences, you can see some of her lovely writing at her blog.

Gimbi, Ethiopia
Photo by Janeen Talbott

And stay tuned for more about my next Africa-related project. It’s definitely awe-inspiring.

**Interesting fact about Gimbi for all you Harry Potter fans: As you know, there’s a quidditch team called the Gimbi Giant-Slayers. But the people in Gimbi don’t read Harry Potter or realize their town is mentioned in 450+ million books around the world.

Inspiration for Art, Writing, and Life

Ready to Give Up?

Succeeding in anything can be difficult. Look at all the Olympic hopefuls coming home without medals. If they compare themselves with the winners in their sport, they may feel like losers, but they’re not. Just making it to the Olympics shows how talented they are. They’re still winners, and so are you.

Who are you comparing yourself to? The winners in your field? Your ideal self? The one who does everything right while you never do?

If you’re struggling with discouragement, check out my blog, Feel Like Giving Up? on Downtown YA. And if you’re a writer who wants to throw in the towel, McKenna Darby has some great advice on the Hearts Through History blog in her post Struggling as a Writer? Congratulations!

The Art of the Imperfect

As I head into the second half of my summer grad courses, I’m thinking a lot about wabi-sabi. And although traditionally those words don’t necessarily belong together and the actual meaning doesn’t translate well into English, we’ve taken bits and pieces of the meaning to create our own concept. Part of wabi-sabi is finding beauty in imperfection. The old, worn, cracked have a special beauty all their own. Peeling paint, stained upholstery, threadbare carpet all tell a story. Life is lived; things have happened in these places.That alone makes them beautiful, but they also have a deeper beauty for those who take the time to study them.

If you can find beauty in a rusting wrought iron chair, a fallen tree, a cracked sidewalk then you have the eye of an artist and the soul of a poet.

Take a closer look at things that have lost their patina. What do you see? What events have occurred here? What joys and sadness do these pieces hold? What stories can they tell now that the shiny newness has worn off?

Many cultures also revere people as they age.  Although their outer coverings become saggy, wrinkled, and age-spotted, they look on the world with knowing eyes. They have learned skills, have gained knowledge and understanding, and have grown in wisdom.  Their inner beings have been tried by fire, that often leaves behind gold nuggets. What can they tell us about life? What life lessons have we learned ourselves from our years of living that we can share?

To my mind, wabi-sabi doesn’t only mean appreciating time-worn objects, it also means allowing for your own mistakes. It means seeing that which you are ashamed of, embarrassed by, discouraged by as openings. Openings that allow you to embrace imperfection, accept it, and love it. Give yourself the grace of appreciation. What can you find to appreciate about the mistakes in your life?

Expand enough to to allow for mistakes and you’ll grow exponentially. Fear of making mistakes often keeps us stuck in old patterns, habits, ruts. It keeps us from experimenting with new things or spreading our wings. If we leave the judgment behind and embrace our imperfections, we can soar to new heights.

Back in the Saddle

Image: Witthaya Phonsawat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I began January by submitting the beginning of a YA set in the Old West. I love how my projects dovetail with each other and with my life. The first connection is that the heroine falls in love with a boy who was adopted into the Shawnee tribe. So how perfectly does that fit with the project I just finished–the 5 vol. Encyclopedia of Native Tribes?

But the connections don’t stop there. My father bought a house in an Arizona ghost town near the Sonora desert. That mining town is now being rehabbed, but I got to see it before it came back. The heroine lives in on a ranch outside town, so I feel I know the area. Walking with forked sticks while watching for rattlesnakes, the scorching sun, the saguaro pointing like fingers toward the sky, the smell of mesquite rising from an open fire. I even spent time on a nearby reservation learning to make pottery. It’s wonderful how life experiences can filter into fiction to make it come alive.

Can’t wait to sit down and finish this one. So many ideas are running through my head. What projects have you started for the New Year? And how do they dovetail with your life?

Ship Ahoy!

Hard to believe it’s been so long since I’ve blogged, but a five-book contract with deadlines a month apart has been grueling.

But I just received word that Pirates 
Through the Ages  is on the way. Yay!! Can’t wait to see how it looks. The editor said it turned out terrific, so I’m excited about holding it in my own two hands. Here’s a mock up of the cover.

Looking back, I wondered while I was immersed in it if I’d manage to get it done by the deadline, but I did. Now I’m wondering the same about my latest assignment. What is it about writers that they’ll put themselves under this much pressure and agree to practically impossible deadlines, then slog through long hours day after day to produce a book? What is it about this profession that’s so compelling? It’s obviously not the money. As most writers discover, this isn’t a lucrative profession. So what do we get besides the pleasure and excitement of holding a book in our hands?

Making Time for Writing

I stumbled on a new blog today that has some great tips for writers. Called Literary Crush, it’s by a fellow Vermont College (can’t help plugging my alma mater) grad, Bethany Dellinger.

I particularly enjoyed her Guiding Principles. If you’re struggling to find time to write each day, you’ll want to check these out.

Are You Feeling Depressed?

I love Eureka! moments. And I had one today. I’ve been sailing along, thinking of how great things have been going.

I’ve tackled lots of projects weighing on my mind by setting aside a Procras- tination Day once a week. I’ve felt lighter and airier without all that guilt holding me back.

I completed a huge assign- ment of 133 articles a week before they were due. (Anyone who knows what a procrastinator I am will realize this was a major victory.) And I completed the art for two book projects within the past two months.

I’m excited about the way my business is going, and I just returned from a terrific conference with Donald Maass that energized me. So why was I feeling so down?

Sure, the weather’s a bit rainy, so it’s dark and depressing outside, but what does that have to do with my internal landscape? Wallowing isn’t usually my nature, but I couldn’t shake this depression that gripped me. I do find, though, when I ask a question out loud, I always get an answer. (And that includes those “Why me,Lord?” ones I sometimes utter.) I don’t necessarily like the response, but it’s always apropos.

Today I asked, “Why am I depressed?”, and got my reply a few minutes later. My Google Alerts, which often drags in many unrelated items, did so again this morning. But I couldn’t resist taking a peek at The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. I’m so glad I did, because I ran across the following sentence:

“I manufactured the stream of painful images because I was feeling good! Some part of me was afraid of enjoying positive energy for any extended period of time.” ~p. 5-6

Talk about a Eureka! moment. I decided to let myself enjoy my successes and positive moments. Not sure if it was coincidence or the power of positive thinking, but the minute I did, the rain cleared up and the day became sunny.

Off into the Wild Blue Yonder

Flying off to PA tomorrow for a conference with 2 CPs. Last year I was speaker. This year I plan to soak up some wisdom and tackle revisions on one of my many manuscripts.

I spend so much time helping other people get their mss in shape, now it’s time to concentrate on mine. Hope to come out of this soaring.