Getting There by Allison Symes

January seems to be the longest month but we’re almost out of it, folks, so hang on in there! The problem is the weather is not usually great and spring is ages away.  Still, one of my roses is blooming, the winter jasmine looks lovely, and I have a determined little primrose in flower. 

There is much in common between our Christian lives and our writing ones. Both call for persistence, determination, an acceptance things will be tough, and the need to keep going. We don’t need to be alone.  We need Jesus’s support and that from other Christians. For writing, we need the support of other writers and resources to help us develop. Our Christian and writing lives should be seen as a marathon.

It helps to determine what you would like to see as “getting there”. To begin with, I wrote stories to prove to myself I could. It was only later I actively sought publication and learned more of the craft to increase my chances. I did the latter via reading writing magazines and craft books, as well as by going to events including many hosted by ACW. All of this helped enormously - and still does. Writers never stop learning.

To an extent, no writer “gets there” entirely. We seek to develop and improve. Sometimes new writing opportunities occur. I discovered flash fiction by accident and decided to try it. Two books later, I’m glad I did! 

I think all writers should seek to “get there” by being able to look back at where you started, assess where you are now, and to see progress. The good news is progress often is little steps over time. So celebrate those. They mount up and can be a sign you are heading in the right direction.  

I started receiving more acceptances on learning my craft (takes time, there are no short cuts) and more about the industry, including likely markets open to flash fiction submissions. I learned to target my stories better to those markets more likely to take them and sure enough some then did. 

I’ve only abandoned two short stories because I boxed myself in with them as I hadn’t thought them through properly. But I learned from this something I still use now - an outline can save heartache but that outline can be as detailed or not, as I need. It can also change as better ideas occur as I write my first draft.

So whatever writing you do, remember so many say they would like to write but don’t. Every time you complete a piece of work you are getting there. Every time you put your head above the parapet and send your work into the world, you are getting there, whether the piece is accepted or not, because you can’t get anywhere if your writing stays on your computer.

I hope this year proves to be a good writing year and we all make further progress in our writing and Christian lives.