Just Write, Damn It!

I struggled with my thoughts on the post this week: submitting vs. not. While I think it’s helpful to put yourself out there, if for nothing else than to get feedback on how you’re doing, there are those who would tell you that submission is part of being a writer. That somehow not being willing to fling your work over the transom makes you less of a writer, or at least not brave enough to fully own that title.

At the moment, I’m not sure that I believe that.

Several months back, I read a series of articles about what it means to be a writer. My own thoughts at the time were pretty snobbish. I felt that if you weren’t actively submitting your work somewhere then you were just wasting your time, as well as the time of anyone else who had been asked to read your pages. But then one blog post stopped me short. The gist was this: if you write, you’re a writer. End of story. No further validation needed. That really appealed to me.

Although I like the inclusionary nature of this approach, I feel like I should add a caveat here. Be proud of the work you do. Enjoy the thrill of creation, and soak up that rush of finishing energy you get when you finally type the words “The End.” But understand your limitations as well.

Cobbling together a story doesn’t automatically make you a professional writer. Just as hammering out a novel doesn’t put you on par with a best-selling author. This approach just says that even if you’re only a hobbyist, you should still call yourself a writer. Because writers write, whether they show their work to others or not.

Not everyone who owns a sailboat will win a regatta. Just as most people who lace up their running shoes will never set a new world record. And very few, if any, of the people swimming laps at the local Y will ever go head to head against Michael Phelps. But they are still sailors, runners, and swimmers in their own rights. Just not as experienced, and perhaps gifted, as those we see doing it professionally.

Now that I’ve gotten the feel-good portion of this post out of the way, let me say this: I do think submission is good for you. If you have any notions of trying to do the writing thing professionally, you need to know where you stand. It’s good to find out how your skills match up against other would-be scribes?

You also need to feel the sting of rejection. It’s good to have your heart broken and your ass kicked so you can figure out if you have what it takes to get back up again. Are you willing to put yourself back out there knowing there are no guarantees and that you very well might get crushed again? Perseverance can be hard to hold on to when you keep recognizing your own SASEs in the mail week after week.

The best coping mechanism I’ve found: write for yourself, not anyone else. Amuse yourself, terrify yourself, whatever fits the tone of the story that you are trying to tell, write it in a way that makes you feel what you want others to feel. Be honest with yourself about what you would expect from a book that you shelled out hard-earned cash for. Then hold yourself to that standard.

All that’s left is to write the damned thing. Because that’s what writers do. They write.

Larry Jenkins

Larry Jenkins is an aspiring Word Pimp. Has laptop, will travel. Let's make this happen, people.