Last year, I guest-posted over at Shrinking Violet Promotions about the pluses of saying Yes. I believe firmly that it’s a much better word than No. Especially when you’re talking to yourself.
But how many yes‘s can you handle? As you move further along your writing path, opportunities are going to multiply. Here are just a few things you may want to jump into as you get deeper into your writing and your writing community:
- Writing on multiple WIPs
- Taking writing classes
- Going to some writing conferences
- Volunteering at a writing club or conference
- Writing a blog
- Getting out onto Facebook and/or Twitter
- Contributing to a newsletter
- JOIN A CRITIQUE GROUP :)
And there are 24 hours in a day?
How many times can you say yes without feeling like those balls you have in the air are transforming into chainsaws and unhappy cats? How do you pick which things to say yes to, without a crystal ball to tell you how it will all work out.
You listen to your gut and accept that Baby Steps can win at “Mother May I” just as well as Giant Steps.
If something sounds fun or you really think it’ll help your writing (craft or career), say yes. If an opportunity has a sour “taste” to it, think twice. Or thrice. Either way, though, if you decide to go for it, remember you can go slowly. You can start with one class, not three. You can pick a local, one-day conference, not a four-day event that requires two days on a plane and another for recovery. Ask your conference coordinators if they can use another person at the registration desk, the day of the conference, instead of offering to handle catering for the entire event.
If you inch forward, even several inches at once, you get a chance to try things out, to test your gut with the reality, not just the picture your nervous imagination is painting. You’ll see what you enjoy, what you’re good at, and what makes you feel like you’re moving forward…versus hitting a dead-end.
You’ll be doing more and you’ll be enjoying it.
What about you? What yes’s are you considering this fall?
