New Year's Rejections

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They make my nose wrinkle in disgust. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” and all that stuff. 

Now they may work for some people, but I somehow always feel like I’m setting myself up for, oh, I don’t know . . . utter failure. 

Thinking, “this is going to be the year that I . . .” seems daunting in a “damn, I knew I shouldn’t have tried that” kind of a way. I’m not looking for that sort of let me down. I mean life is tough enough by itself. Look at all the curve balls, roller coasters, tidal waves, (insert your own metaphor) and everyday crap we’ve got to sift through just to make it to the next New Year’s celebration. And I’m not even a pessimist!

So, I’ve decided that while I do not have any resolutions this year, I’d like to see at least one thing happen. I’d like to have my writing rejected by a publisher. 

Now remember, I said I’m not a pessimist and here’s the proof. The way I’m going to look at it is this. One rejection means that I’ve started the journey. Two mean that I’ve taken a few bold steps. A whole slew of them and I’ve shown myself that I really do want to do this. 

Because if you can keep going even when someone or lots of someones say, “No,” well, perhaps what you’re trying to do is something truly valuable (or you’re crazy – but as we Breast Cancer 3-dayers know it’s not crazy, it’s brave).

Recently, in reading Stephen King’s memoir On Writing, I learned about his first writing desk, crammed in his room under the eaves. He drove a nail in the wall above the desk and when he received a rejection slip it was poked onto the nail. In time, he took the nail down, not because he wasn’t getting rejected anymore, but because it was too small for all his rejections. He replaced it with a large spike and kept writing. 

Writing shouldn’t be solely about getting published (not that I’m saying we wouldn’t all LOVE that), but it should be about something more.

It is art. It is craft. It is writing. It needs no other excuses.

So 2010 will be the year of the rejection. 

Challenge yourself. What kinds of rejections might you seek this year? 

 Rejection has never felt so good.