Working Toward Positive Change

Happy New Year!

Like many, I’ve entered 2023 cautiously—with controlled optimism—with an eye on creating positive change in my life. The last two years have been very difficult for me, and I struggle daily with unrelenting anxiety. Sometimes working toward change is the only option for improvement, the only way forward.

Change, though, is not easy, and I find I need to keep my feelings of hope in check so that I’m not hit with greater disappointment. Shortly before Christmas, for example, I submitted an adoption application for a rescue dog; she was, however, adopted by someone else. A couple weeks later, I submitted an application for another dog, but she was also already adopted by the time the rescue reviewed my application.

Making the decision to actively look for a new furry family member (after losing my beloved Rosie in June) has not been easy. Am I ready? I don’t feel settled where I currently live; should I wait until I’m in a home with a fenced-in yard? I weigh these questions against the healing benefits I know a loving dog could provide for me; ultimately, I am confident that the right dog will come along at the right time. In the meantime, I regularly hit refresh on my Petfinder search, as well as on my Zillow searches, both tabs kept open on my browser. What new things await me?

Intentional change takes time, and striving for change can be a difficult, disappointing, and even heartbreaking process. Yet it’s necessary, and the end result may be surprising and delightful. This is true for writing as well.

Insanity Is…

Attributed to Albert Einstein is the idea that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” So when something isn’t working, when you have a seemingly unsolvable problem, sometimes you need to approach it in a different way. This is how I’ve learned to approach writing over the last few years.

While I’ve been writing and studying writing for many years, it’s only been in the last couple of years that my creative writing career has started to flourish. Part of this is because around 2018, I started to approach my own writing differently; I allowed myself to be more and more open to change, to newness. There was a whole world of writing to discover. Writing was not just one thing—it was (is) an infinite number of things. The pandemic helped, as being home allowed me more time to focus on writing and reading. I also became part of a larger community of writers through the “miracle” of Zoom, an exposure that really deepened (and has continued to deepen) my commitment to writing.

Change Is Gradual

It’s important to remember that change is often gradual. This is particularly true for skills that you develop and practice over time (e.g., writing). If there’s going to be a payoff, it often isn’t immediate, though there may be small, maybe even imperceptible, payoffs in the interim.

In the fall of 2021, I started working on a novella-in-flash (a novella comprised of individual flash fiction stories). This novella project is far from complete, but I had to take a break from it in mid-2022, when I found myself not knowing where to go with it. My original idea wasn’t panning out in a way that I liked. I plodded along for a bit but then recalled Einstein’s wisdom. I knew I needed to approach the project differently; I needed to reconceptualize.

In the meantime, I have turned my attention to another writing project. Sometimes that’s the way writing goes. There is no sense in laboring along if something isn’t working; there’s no sense in forcing something.

If that’s happening in your own writing, I would encourage you to set it aside for a moment and consider how you might approach the project differently, how you might breathe new life into it. Matt Bell says something similar in his book Refuse to Be Done (which I highly recommend): “In general, if you’re not excited about what you’re writing, consider writing something else…perhaps consider…writing somewhere else in the manuscript” (p. 21). He adds that “excitement will generate more excitement—and you avoid the alternative, where your boredom generates more boredom” (p. 21).

I believe there should always be a sense of excitement in whatever writing project you’re working on—something that motivates you, propels you forward. And if you’re not feeling that, or if you’re just doing the same thing over and over again (but expecting different results), it will be evident in your writing.

Opportunities Await

So far in 2023, I’ve received four rejections of work I’ve submitted to literary journals. Rejections can be disheartening, but they are also an integral part of a writer’s life. Writers will typically receive many, many more rejections than acceptances. But these rejections can often be a source of pride—as well they should be! As I see it, a rejection means that you put yourself out there, you took a risk. For that, you should congratulate yourself.

For me, a rejection is also an opportunity for change! A rejection doesn’t inherently mean that a piece needs revision; it simply may not have been a fit for the journal you sent it to. Even so, I’m in the habit of taking an objective look at a piece before I submit it somewhere else. Because simply sending it out over and over again (and receiving rejection after rejection) would be insanity: doing the same thing, expecting different results.

No matter how long you’ve been writing, there are always ways you can improve, whether it be trying a new form or exploring how you might be more innovative with your writing. The more you read and write—the more you practice—the better your writing will likely become.

It can be easy to dwell on rejection as a writer. But with each rejection—each new opportunity—I see positive change. While I had more stories published in 2021 than in 2022, I know I have to look at the broader picture. Out of just a few stories I had published in 2022, three were nominated for prizes/honors. None of my stories from 2021 (or any previous year) were nominated for anything. As a creative writer, I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was in 2020. And I keep moving forward.

And that’s the way change works. With both setbacks and small steps forward. And that is why I’m cautiously optimistic for 2023. Because I know there’ll be setbacks. But if I’m prepared for the opportunities they present, then I’m more likely to progress and create positive change.

New Things for 2023

Some of the changes I’m working toward in 2023 include the following:

• Creating an author website that will focus on my publications, writing projects, and writing growth [it will not replace this website].
• Starting a Substack newsletter.
• Getting a dog? (Only time will tell!)

And one change I’ve already made this year is that I’ve added a new service: editorial feedback for standalone work up to 5,000 words. This is a cost-effective way to get quick feedback and direction when you don’t want to pay for a full edit. Find details here.