Writing Rewards

Happy Monday! I am excited to welcome guest blogger Carol Alexander of Everything Home with Carol. Carol and I met through blogging, and it's a treat to have her share her wisdom and insight with us. I encourage you to stop by her blog and say hello. She'd love to see you!

The Sweet Rewards of Berries and Writing

In my neck of the woods, wineberries are the mother lode. They beat all wild berries hands down. The wineberry is related to the raspberry, but bigger, juicier, sweeter, and with seeds soft enough to go unnoticed. Our family purposes to find and pick these tasty morsels every summer.

One day last summer, while hip high in briars picking berries, I thought how this practice is much like my writing career.

The first similarity I realized between berry picking and writing came as I walked along the mountain road looking for fruit on my right. After some distance, and not finding any, I stopped to look back for my husband. I then saw a flash of red from the other side of the road.

“Wow. What a stash,” I said. “I never even thought to look on the other side of the road.”

How often do we do that with our writing? We are so accustomed to writing on the same topic that we never consider the other side of the road. Just because I, for the most part, write articles on homeschooling doesn’t mean I can’t venture into other areas. To remind me of this I posted a large note on my office wall that reads, “What Did I Do Today? Write It.”  In response to this charge, I’ve written about buying a washing machine, running a flea market business, and reaching out to my neighbors. Remember, for more story ideas look on the other side of the road.

Today the whine of the gnats was deafening. They weren’t just swarming around our heads, either. They were crawling all over us—in our ears, eyes, mouths. B-l-l-a-a-h-h-h! I could have gone nuts! But wineberries are worth it. I just had to focus on those berries—that sweet reward.

In writing, publication is the sweet reward. And the gnats are those telling us we can’t do it—the rejection slips, unsupportive families, and critics. But if we ignore them, if we focus on the reward, we can do it. If we waste time and energy fanning the gnats out of our face and slapping them off our arms, no berries go into the bucket.

That reminds me of another thing. When picking berries, and when writing, you must focus on what you are doing. Mostly I pick berries with little boys. A little boy typically picks a berry from a cluster as his eyes travel to the next cluster. Consequently, his hand leaves nine berries here to get one berry from over there, and so forth. He travels down the road that way, leaving scads of berries behind. Fortunately, I am aware of how little boys operate and follow along to retrieve the berries they miss.

In writing, losing focus leads to losing opportunities. If you sit down at the computer to write, but end up on Facebook, you’ve lost your focus. If you’re working on a story about growing tomatoes, but find yourself writing about eating tomatoes, you’ve lost your focus. Don’t be like my little boys. Don’t leave so much behind that someone else scoops up all your berries.

Picking wineberries involves trudging up dusty mountain trails and hanging onto steep hillsides. Hip high in brambles and poison ivy you constantly wonder how far lurks the nearest snake or bear. Often, you come to a great stand of berry canes that have been picked clean. Someone else beat you to them.

Just so in writing—the way is steep, it’s a lot of hard work, and the competition is fierce. But if you persevere, you hit the mother lode.

Carol J. Alexander picks berries and writes stories in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Her articles have appeared in Urban Farm Magazine, BackHome Magazine, Grit, Home Education Magazine, The Old Schoolhouse, Funds for Writers and Writing for DOLLARS! Visit her blog http://EverythingHomeWithCarol.blogspot.com for more information on wineberries.


Many thanks, Carol, for sharing your thoughts with us!

What's the latest writing idea you've gleaned from everyday life? How did you use it?


Happy writing,

Karen

Photo credit: foobean01  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/896415