Writing Without a Net

It’s a bit of gamble, this writing thing.

I write and write and write and write.

And then I edit and edit and edit and edit.

And then I edit even more.

And when my latest masterpiece is all shined up and ready, I send it out into the world.

Sometimes (okay, many times) it comes back to me with words of rejection.

It feels like judgment. Probably because it is judgment.

And I say –

That’s just one person’s opinion.

(the very same thing I said to riding students I coached when they didn’t win a ribbon at a horse show.)

Every now and again, my writing is crowned worthy and it sails forth on a website or blog or a real paper page.

And this is scary, too.

Because this is writing without a net.

This is putting my heart out there for all to see.

It’s also showcasing my grammatical struggles, my flimsy opinions, my overreaching prose, and my personal bias.

It’s saying

I think what I have to say is worth reading!

And then daring the reader to agree or disagree.

I am learning (slowly) to wear a duck’s feathers.

To let hurtful words,

harsh judgment,

or someone else’s hard day,

roll right on off me into that muddy puddle and then leave them there.

Because sometimes I hear from readers who say – how did you know?

How did you get inside my head? My heart? My soul?

And sometimes they say, Thank you.

Thank you for writing that.

I needed to hear it.

Thank you for writing that.

I needed the escape.

Thank you for writing that.

You made me wonder.

And when that happens-

I am humbled.

And happy.

 

Thanks for reading – write on, my friends.

Blessings,

Cara

CaraWrites.com