by Raymond Alexander Kukkee ©2013
Flash in the Pan
I Choose, You Choose
As everyday writers we may eventually be offered fame or fortune, by chance or circumstance. Failing that unlikely scenario, with writing we can conjure up our own personal delusions of fame or fortune which are unrealistic at best considering there are
thousands millions of other writers also hard at it. Articles, novels, fiction, fact. Tapping away. Creating. Writing. Getting luckier by the minute. Inventing the better mousetrap in words. The perpetually
worrisome wordathoner, flash-in-the-panner, Olympian grammarian,
secretive scribbler, and perfect poet, or comatose competitors. We see them all.
They are us.
The great majority are out of luck. Promises of fame that never materializes in the first place or is short-lived at best bears an astounding resemblance to prizes never awarded.
Ego-stroking. Failed dreams.
Pffffffft-t. Writing. Does the fuse burn out?
Not to be discouraged, if and when
those images are invariably shattered,
we the optimistic instantly replace them with new, better ones, so we remain upbeat, 'encouraged', 'inspired', and encouraged enough to try yet again.
It's called optimism.
At times it's nice to dream, and let's face it,
we dream big-- sky-high in warm, fuzzy clouds, magically writing million-copy best-sellers, winning the
Giller Award, or heaven forbid, big cash, a
Nobel prize for literature, a coveted Pulitzer for fiction, perhaps the meticulous construction of the all-time-greatest
Great American Novel if we happen to be American.
Being that successful would be a bit much for a
shy, introverted nose-to-the-keyboard writer, would it not?
We walk the thin edge. Are we afraid of success?
How about 'fortune' itself? I know, let's sell a
gazillion copies of eBooks for $0.25 in Mumbai instead, and trundle all of that
eMoney money right down to the
eBank.
That, too isn't quite as simple as it could be. Are
e-Richer people necessarily happier? Money provides choices and little else.
The fact is, it takes work and choices to determine if the writing life will bring us fame and fortune, or leave us with
foolishness and failure. If something doesn't work, it's back to the keyboard.
Success or not, foolishness or failure-- writers are a hardy breed; we're not quitters. We are what we do. I choose, you choose.
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Is that Incoming I hear?
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About Raymond Alexander Kukkee
A published author and freelance writing professional, Raymond lives and writes in Northwestern Ontario.
Comatose competitors … LOL I like that one.
Conny, have you ever had that feeling in a big competition (like the novel competition recently) People throw whatever in, hoping they might just luck out?
Great post, Raymond. This post of yours makes me feel proud to be a writer. You couldn’t have said it better. We’re NOT quitters and we aren’t afraid of success and ‘fortune’. We work hard and we are what we do. We are writers and proud to be writers.
Thanks, Mandy! I think many writers will identify with this..we work hard–and we are proud to do so. We’re writers at heart, through and through. “:)
Writers, indeed do work hard. Then they turn their ugly babies over to beta readers, editors, layout designers and all the other people who work hard to groom their ugly babies into readable books that might just garner some attention among the dross that makes up the world of publishing today.
Writers, ego’s bigger than the big sky of Montana have a hard row to hoe. They must contend with the idea their story might be great but translation from brain to word processor may not have worked quite so well. It does, indeed require a village.
Once that village has done the job, the writer must once again work hard plowing through the inclination to retreat and instead pushing their now beautiful baby out on the stage for others to buy, read and hopefully love as much as they do. Accepting their accolades and the occasional criticism, with a smile and gratitude; even the critic bought the book.
Yes, the writer works hard. If the writer is lucky with all that hard work they will eventually be a recognized as an author, one others will look up in the future. Money isn’t everything in the life of the author, sure pays the bills though.
Welcome, Valentine, I could not have said it better.
The bottom line, unknown, and contradictory is whether or not all the annoying stuff and work is enough to sell a few ugly book-babies to pay the bills–most of the time “not”….however, that doesn’t preclude genuine writers doing the same thing all over again…haha! Thanks for commenting!
It’s a lot of work, but it’s one of the best choices I make every single day. And when something isn’t working for me, I move on and catch the next wave, until it too, crashes into the shore and I need to swim back out to where the waters start rising again. Lovely post, Raymond, as always 🙂
Hi MJ, you’re right on,,its a huge amount of work–and a great choice. I do the same thing, just move on to something new for a while, then go back and try again..never quit! Thanks, MJ!
I choose to keep writing and reading great posts by writers like you, Raymond. Great incoming, as usual!
That’s wonderful, Christyb, there’s nothing as satisfying as hearing compliments on my posts, receiving them from YOU, who are yourself a wonderful writer, that is so encouraging….thank you. “:))