Perspectives

So something occurred to me the other day while I was feeding my dogs (I'll get to that part in a moment).  You know that old adage "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"?  It's true, but not just physical beauty, right?

Let's face it, as writers we get a lot of rejection.  Rejection letters from agents, publishers, and editors.  We face rejection from opinions of friends, family, critique groups, judges, etc, etc.  But even from ourselves!

We love our work...we hate our work! Rinse. Repeat.

The thing is, because rejection is such a part of this business, I think it's important to turn some of that awful feeling (yes, it happens to all of us) into something useful.  I don't buy the whole "you need to have thick skin" argument.  And I'll wager most of you don't either.  It's not about having thick skin.  It's about taking the good with the bad, and letting the good get the better of you.  After you've had your private moment to wrestle with the bad of course.

It's about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and learning from your mistakes.  It's about letting go of what you can't control, persevering toward your goals, and making that darn lemonade!

See, when I went to feed the dogs the other day, the bag slipped, fell, and sprayed dog food all over the kitchen floor. At first I was frustrated with myself for not holding the dog food bag right, mad that I'd made a mess to clean up, but then I saw things from their point of view...hmmm a bunch of kibble all over the kitchen floor.  It was a free for all.  And you know what, I didn't have to clean it up, AND I didn't have to feed the dogs supper.

It's about seeing the beauty and embracing it.

One Smart Dog: Nemo's take on getting around the problem

So my dog blew me away with his intelligence yesterday.  You would think I'd know how smart he is by now, but he can still get my heart to swell with pride.

Of the two boys, Nemo is the sweetheart who loves to play fetch, and Cory is the resource controller--read: if it's in Nemo's possession, he wants it.

So, Nemo wants to play fetch with me and he knows Cory is going to take the FIRST toy he brings.  Then I'll tell him to get another for us to play with together.

Cory's been favoring this pink, plush octopus--well, really it's a hexa-pus anymore--so Nemo get's that, and his favorite earless squirrel.  He carries both toys over to Cory and drops the pink octopus at his paws.

Then prances over to me, squirrel still in his mouth, and he promptly drops it at my feet.

Did it work?  You bet.  Cory and I play tug with the leg losing octopus and Nemo gets to play fetch with his first pick.

Life throws us challenges, sometimes your best way around them is a little creative genius.

So go out there, and write the best you can.  Sooner or later, someone will notice.