Insecure Writers Want to Know: What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time?

            So when I boarded this emotional rowboat called a writing career, I just wanted someone—other than my family—to tell me my writing was good. You know, publishable. And then once I received that, I wanted to be published all the time.   

Is this really so unreasonable to ask for; someone to like what I write and want to publish it? Well in my boat, it is. Do I know why? No! The story planks all seem to be cut from the same watertight tree. But every plank or so seems to squeeze out a “rejection” leak.

I’ve rowed through so many emotional rapids, sideswiped the “Almost” ship several times, and got sunburnt awaiting the life ring of reply to hopefully pull my story into the magazine of choice. I’ve got blisters on my fingertips.

These stories don’t just flow out of a shield volcano like on Hawaii’s Big Island, you know. They take planning and much too much thought and worry that I’m doing it right. I need to hide away in some cave with an internet connection to create them. Yet the family still somehow tracks me down.

Now it’s not always my family’s fault, I have to admit. Many days, I just sit in my rowboat and stare at all the plot threads and notes dangling off the port side. I’m surprised the fish don’t grab them and flip my boat. My memoir about attending college as a mother of five feels like the dead albatross hanging around the Ancient Mariner’s neck in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Will I ever be able to break free and just write?  

            This is why I remain in the IWSG Sea. You all keep me sane and encourage me to continue to submit my YA short stories and work on my college memoir. I’d be lost without you. Thank you!

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This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s SupportGroup. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.  To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.  

Please note that I will not post in August of 2018. I have many writing projects I desperately need to address. Thanks for always reading my Adventures in Writing blog posts and sharing your insight. It means the world to me. Enjoy your summer!