Late last year we stayed at King Lake in Victoria. This area is now regrowing bigger and stronger than before after the tragic bush fires of 2009. It reminded me of how writers can sometimes feel burnt out and unappreciated when our writing is rejected or we receive a bad review. We question whether we should take up the challenge again for our next work.
However, when we're called to write it's important for us not to let rejection cripple us so that we never write another word. All rejection means is that our work is not suitable at that moment for that publishing house; a reader preferred to be reading something else; or we're ahead of our time for what we've written. It's not the end of the world. It's your work that's been rejected, not you as a person.
We can learn a lot from the burnt forest. In the same way the destroyed forest begins to grow after a fire we, too, can grow in our writing after a rejection. We can't help it. We've been called to write so we must write.
The important thing to remember is that we come back stronger than before. When starting a new work the words and small phrases are the new shoots that begin to sprout on the trees. The longer we sit at the key board or put pen to paper the more the words grow and blossom into a mini branch then an adolescent branch and finally to maturity when it becomes a chapter, part of the bigger tree, the book.
We repeat this for each of our chapters until we have the tree complete and mature ready to blossom and be shown to the world. The new tree provides nourishment for the readers, shelter and beauty. It welcomes wildlife that comes to enjoy the beauty of that tree in the same way as our readers. Soon the charred bark of the trees falls away and in its place is strong bark that supports the tree to keep the branches and leaves contained for generations to come. When you write a work of excellence your book will also be here for future generations.
If your work gets rejected I want to encourage you to become that new tree of life. Create new branches so that your work reaches out and changes lives in the world in the same way the forest changes us, giving us hope, and renewing our spirit. In faith we push forward to the next work when God plants a seed of creativity in our hearts that needs to be watered and allowed to grow influenced by the experiences of our lives. Every book has a different fragrance. Let's not be afraid of creating that aroma from our own unique blend.
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline." (2
Tim 1:7 NIV)
Make a decision today to use rejection to make your writing stronger so that your unique bouquet will add to the wonders of this amazing world.
However, when we're called to write it's important for us not to let rejection cripple us so that we never write another word. All rejection means is that our work is not suitable at that moment for that publishing house; a reader preferred to be reading something else; or we're ahead of our time for what we've written. It's not the end of the world. It's your work that's been rejected, not you as a person.
We can learn a lot from the burnt forest. In the same way the destroyed forest begins to grow after a fire we, too, can grow in our writing after a rejection. We can't help it. We've been called to write so we must write.
The important thing to remember is that we come back stronger than before. When starting a new work the words and small phrases are the new shoots that begin to sprout on the trees. The longer we sit at the key board or put pen to paper the more the words grow and blossom into a mini branch then an adolescent branch and finally to maturity when it becomes a chapter, part of the bigger tree, the book.
We repeat this for each of our chapters until we have the tree complete and mature ready to blossom and be shown to the world. The new tree provides nourishment for the readers, shelter and beauty. It welcomes wildlife that comes to enjoy the beauty of that tree in the same way as our readers. Soon the charred bark of the trees falls away and in its place is strong bark that supports the tree to keep the branches and leaves contained for generations to come. When you write a work of excellence your book will also be here for future generations.
If your work gets rejected I want to encourage you to become that new tree of life. Create new branches so that your work reaches out and changes lives in the world in the same way the forest changes us, giving us hope, and renewing our spirit. In faith we push forward to the next work when God plants a seed of creativity in our hearts that needs to be watered and allowed to grow influenced by the experiences of our lives. Every book has a different fragrance. Let's not be afraid of creating that aroma from our own unique blend.
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline." (2
Tim 1:7 NIV)
Make a decision today to use rejection to make your writing stronger so that your unique bouquet will add to the wonders of this amazing world.
