Judging Our Work

I'm taking a six week pottery class. Jessie is a very talented young woman in the class. Every piece she's made both by hand and on the wheel looks like it should be on display in a museum.

Jessie comes from a family of artists. Her grandmother was a water colorist. In going through her grandmother's things after her death, Jessie said she found some wonderful paintings that her grandmother evidently didn't like. Sometimes Jessie found paintings on both sides of the paper, and sometimes the paintings had been discarded for scrap. Jessie said she went through her grandmother's discards, and she framed paintings she loved to display in her house.

After someone else in class groaned about how pitiful his work was, our instructor, Kate, said she's noticed we often don't realize how good our work is. Everyone else's work looks better, we think, than ours. We're all guilty of comparing our work to others'.

In our last class, Kate asked us to get all our pieces together to glaze. I saw one vase I thought was so beautiful I consciously thought, "I wish this were mine." I picked it up, turned it over to see whose initials were carved into the bottom, and there they were -- JD, mine. Under pressure to crank out a piece the week or so before, I'd rolled out a slab, chosen a stamp for design, and attached a bottom. It was a simple piece I'd done quickly, and after it went through the fire, I loved it. Hopefully I'll still love it after the glaze is applied.

We are not in position to evaluate our own work. Just do it. Let it sit a week. When you go back to read your manuscript, you might be surprised.

originally written 10-15-10

From This Day Forward

It's lucky I have any hair left on my head. This morning I yanked at handfuls in frustration.

Yesterday I spent time on the internet trying to locate Word files of something I'd submitted just two weeks ago. This morning, I hunted for articles I'd published in 2008 to include in a list of writing credits. I remembered a term that might describe me, at least where paperwork is concerned. Stacks of papers? Can't find what I'm looking for? Chronic disorganization -- that's me.

Peter Walsh, http://www.peterwalshdesign.com/, Business and Work, Tip #184:Conquer Your Paper Files, suggests handling current papers first. I could do that, if I only had a system.

"I have to find a way to organize my papers," I told my husband. "I don't know whether to file by publisher or title or date." This is the man I've been married to for 41 years.

"Why don't you have three files?" he asked. "You can make one for current projects, one for articles submitted, and one for manuscripts accepted for publication. You can file by date."

His system came together in a matter of minutes. Now I can make similar folders for my computer files.

I have a fair number of publishing credits, but I still struggle with organization. Never assume anyone knows anything. What's easy for you may be a mystery to someone else. If you have a system that works well for you, why not write about it? Someone needs your help.

To Do List

It is 10 a.m. I've been on the computer for over two hours. I've uploaded photos to send to friends. I've written a very long e-mail I decided not to send. I've researched communities in another state.

When I first got up, my plan was to start the next chapter of the non-fiction book I've committed to writing. Here it is two hours later. I've been busy on the computer, but haven't moved forward with the manuscript. As I got out my notes for today's work, several distractions came to mind. The letter I intended to mail to my granddaughter yesterday still needs to be put in an envelope. I really need to call my friend, Lin. I promised my husband I'd play Frisbee with our dog.

I could handle these "to do's" in one of two ways. I could get the letter ready to mail, call Lin and take the dog out. Then I could block off two hours to write. OR I could begin a list of "to do's" that come to mind as I'm writing and tackle the list when I need a break. A pad of paper by the computer is helpful to record those necessary important things that can wait. I'm taking the dog out now to relieve myself of guilt. My husband asked me to do that as he left for work, and I could hardly hear him over the clatter of keys on the keyboard. I'll walk the letter out to the mail box and call Lin after I get a few pages complete.

Come, Annie, good dog. Oh, dear. Who left those dishes in the sink?

I'm not really putting off writing. I'm just allowing myself to be distracted.

Who am I kidding?

An Encouraging Word

While talking to his secretary on the phone, my husband sat down at the computer. I heard him ask her, "Have you every heard of Guide Post?" Then he told her I'd just received notice that an article I'd submitted for "Mysterious Ways" had been picked up. I came into the room to see what he was talking about. I'd received an e-mail from an editor from Guide Post asking if I'd be willing for them to edit a short piece I'd submitted. Of course.

I first submitted the article November 9, 2009. This is October 15, 2010. So be encouraged.

The Same, But Different

Every week I meet four friends for breakfast. Last week we met at Cracker Barrel. We each ordered something different from the menu, but all five breakfasts got rave reviews. We decided to meet at Cracker Barrel again today.

"I'm going to order the same thing I did last week," I told my husband before I left. "Except I'm not going to order a side of gravy. And instead of turkey sausage I plan to order bacon. And if they can give me toast instead of biscuits, I'd like that. But I'm still going to have eggs, grits, and baked apples." He laughed.

Last year I attended the Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference, and one of our presenters told us movie producers are looking for the same thing, only different. They want the same romantic comedy, the same adventure story, the same drama, but they want it to be different than all the others.

Okay. For inspiration, you might try Cracker Barrel. There are several new breakfast combos on the menu. ;-)

Come Again?

In January I started on a piece with an August 1 deadline. The last time I worked on the manuscript, I thought it was probably ready to be submitted except for one thing. I've changed in the six months I've been working on the article. The anger I felt then is gone. The article, if accepted, will come out several months down the road. So what do I do with that?

I was struggling with six words -- to keep them or change them. Somehow "sorry rat a$$ of a man" didn't seem appropriate for me to be saying. After all, what if someone I know reads the article? I run with a straight group. You know, they don't chew, smoke, or cuss, or run with those who do. Then I saw an episode of World's Strictest Parents on TV. One of the teens participating kept saying he didn't give a rat's posterior. Oh. I don't want to sound like him. So I softened it, changing s-r-a-o-a-m to simply rat. But now, the issue is no longer an issue. I hold no hard feelings against the man I was having so much trouble forgiving six months ago. So do I toss the article? Change it?

This is a problem I have putting some things in print. People change. Circumstances change. Once it's in print, our words are chiseled in stone. I hope I can remember to hammer my words thoughtfully and not in a spirit of anger. I don't want to be more of an embarrassment than I sometimes am to my family.

Overcoming the Need to Please

But what if someone doesn't like what I write? What if I hurt someone's feelings? It's going to happen whether it's our intent or not, so we just have to get over ourselves.

Years ago my husband and I read Dr. Wayne Dyer's Your Erroneous Zones. Dyer said whatever we do, half the people won't like it. James Patterson, interviewed in the July 5, 2010 issue of Time Magazine, page 8, said this: "There are thousands of people who don't like what I do. Fortunately, there are millions who do."

So don't let the possibility of criticism stand in your way of seeking publication. Criticism will come. We can count on it.