Defining Creative Writing Success
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time, but I’ve been struggling. How can I advise you to take stock of all your writing accomplishments last year when I’ve not done my own list? How can I do my own list when I feel like I’ve not done anything this past year in the creative writing department? Or any other department for that matter. How do you define creating writing success anyway?
2017 started out pretty well. I’d taken a job at a marketing agency. In the negotiation process I’d successfully argued for more money, and felt proud of myself. I was excited about this new opportunity and looked forward to not only contributing to this company, but to learning more. Then the red flags started popping up. The first day of work it was something like 12 degrees and my car was frozen: driver side door lock frozen, windshield covered in ice and back window covered in ice. I could only enter through the passenger side and crawl over the gear shift. I couldn’t see, but managed to get to my local coffee spot and park my car in the sun long enough to melt the ice before continuing the 2 miles to work.
The red flags continued. Over the course of the five months that I worked there, out of a 50-person company 10 people “parted ways” usually over disagreements with the CEO. Any training offered was a “high level” discussion of marketing theory rather than any lessons on how to use any of the proprietary systems. And trying to figure out who was responsible for what ended up as a round of Who’s On First. And customers left at a steady pace. After I was told I wasn’t communicating with my team (I held daily meetings with everyone but my designer who was too busy to attend or update me) I decided that it wasn’t the place for me. Or was it the fact that I found myself crying on my way to work every day?
Needless to say, that experience took a lot out of me. And I floundered. And still, I didn’t write.
Much.
Is it really writing?
I continued hosting my Monday Writers group which forced me to write at least every Monday. I created story starts, fragments of poems and some rambling rants… some of which may become something one day. I’m going to count that as writing.
I also submitted my Dead Deer Essay (officially called “Ten Miles to Ogallala”) to over 30 literary journals… and yes, it was finally accepted and will be published sometime next year at Garfield Lake Review. I’ll count that as the business of writing. (Have you been submitting your work?)
My next project was to transcribe my great grandfather’s journal. He’d written it in 1901 when he joined the Navy at the age of 14. He was an Apprentice Boy aboard a square rigged barkentine. My original intent was to create an ebook for quick and easy download, but instead turned it into a book. Now that the holidays are done I’m working on selling it to maritime museum bookstores. I’m also working on a collection of my grandfather’s stories written about his World War II adventures as a pilot in the Pacific Theater. While I’m still not sure if this can be considered “writing” I’m certainly learning a lot about the process of creating a book, designing a cover, and ultimately marketing and selling a book. So I’ll put this in the win pile.
Other creative successes in 2017 included:
- Kept DimeStories going (with a lot of help)
- Facilitated a Jump Start your Novel workshop in preparation for NaNoWriMo at the library,
- Facilitated Re-Writing Our Relationship with Mother Earth with my friend Karin Zirk
- Started a business with a friend by entering a business plan competition (more to come in 2018 on this very website when we make our final presentation in April)
- Created a website for my new editing/publishing services business and booked 3 clients
- Went to Cuba (ok, not really a creative success, but glad I did it)
- Swam a lot of laps (also not specifically a writing success, exercise is good for the brain)
So count your creative writing successes in as many ways as you can and look at how you can do things differently for next year. Whatever you don’t accomplish is not a failure, but rather a learning opportunity.
Here’s to a prosperous and healthy (in mind, body, and spirit) 2018.