Onward, Indeed

It’s been a minute since I’ve written anything here. It’s been a lot of minutes. The last time I was here, I had turned in pages to an editor for feedback. And boy, did I get the feedback. It was tough. A bit demoralizing. The very definition of harsh, but fair. And for a while, I struggled to get started again. The feedback was on point, but the truth is it requires an entire rewrite of that project, and at the moment, I’m not sure I have the energy for it. Instead, I took the general feedback and have been applying it as I outline something new. I remind myself that the previous project had started as an exercise. And the project is the purpose. And so, I begin again. Onward.

This weekend I had the joy of joining one of my favorite communities at the North Carolina Writer’s Network’s spring conference in Asheville with two dear friends and colleagues. In addition to learning with and getting inspired by fellow writers, it’s just so soul-filling to be in a space with your people. For the first time in a long time, I had an entire weekend where I didn’t think about my day job once. Instead, I thought about creativity and art and the healing power of words and building community. I learned how Asheville and the communities surrounding it are doing the deep, hard work of rebuilding and recreating after so much devastation. How much work remains to be done. Onward.

In addition to all that, there were two talks that especially touched me. In one of the final sessions, author Tessa Fontaine led a workshop called “Finish What You Started.” Advice, perhaps, we all can use. As she went through the various internal and external challenges that can get us off-track in our work, she provided numerous tips and strategies to get unstuck. One of my favorites was this: Whatever your goal is, make it smaller.

Many of us, myself included, are apt to set ourselves up for failure because we make our goals too big, too ambitious, too untethered to reality. Instead, often, we would be better suited by making our goals smaller. More manageable. More, therefore, achievable. Whatever your goal is, make it smaller. And then, get to work. Onward.

And then there was the keynote, by the spectacular and inimitable Ron Rash. It would be impossible to sum up his remarks, which included breathtaking readings from his work, reflections on his writing career and craft, and of course, advice and encouragement. He ended with a story from his grad school days, when he too had gotten some harsh, but fair feedback on a piece of writing, which made him consider quitting altogether. Why bother trying when the chances of failure were so incredibly high? But, he concluded, “I’d rather live my life having tried and failed than never knowing if I could have tried. So, to all you aspiring authors, onward.”

Onward, indeed.