Bob's Write from the Start: Homo Prospectus

Bob's Write from the Start

Bob’s Write from the Start, a blog sharing the roller coaster ride of this renewing writer’s feelings and actual experiences, began March 2017. That January, I began with a two-sentence contribution to a local Writing Group. I am now a Guest Columnist for a local paper and have contributed to small and online magazines. My comments for new and renewing writers? Start by starting. Join a writing group. You are unique but not alone. Once you start work, you will not be in Kansas anymore.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Homo Prospectus

OK, so here are two positive things (at last, I know) you may find useful.

First, like most anxious waiting and hoping, it looks as though I won't be able to use either of my posting headlines. What I submitted wasn't quite what my editor (I love saying "my editor") was after. But 'everything was there' and she is going to re-shape it. While I suspect this was her kind way of saying "What the heck was that???!!!", I will give myself a quiet 'O frabjous day' (no headline; no exclamation) because she might well have said: "I have re-assigned this to someone who understands simple instructions." I will admit I am both disappointed and relieved.

You may find yourself in a similar situation if you have the good fortune to be given an assignment by someone else early in your writing life. There are phrases in tradecraft that have specific meanings which are blindingly obvious to those having used them for awhile, and mysteriously obtuse to newbies, c'est moi.

This is the second thing I learned or, at least re-learned in my new writing world: When you are taking a test (i.e. the assignment) imagine a positive outcome and view future risks realistically by thinking of what possibilities there may be even if the outcome is not 100% positive. As opposed to, say: "The world as I know it will come to an end if this doesn't work."

(Read "We Aren't Built to Live in the Moment" in the May 19th, 2017 New York Times free article online)

That way you will sleep more soundly and the actual results will be no different than they would have been if you hadn't done all that useless catastrophizing.

You probably know that already. I knew it. I just hadn't figured out how to apply it to this situation. Next time. Count on it.

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About Me

Name: Bob's Write From The Start

Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Born, raised and living in Sarnia, Ontario, Bob Boulton began writing poetry, short stories and humorous articles for his high school newspaper in the period just after dinosaurs roamed the earth. His article on the mysteries of the Chess Club was particularly well-received. Bob’s excruciatingly naive teenage sonnet was published with positive mention in the high school yearbook. In University he wrote pretty much indecipherable essays on Existentialism and Phenomenology. Then, early in his working career, Bob also wrote short feature articles in the now-defunct (not his fault) Weston York Times. For this, he was paid $5.00 per article, which didn’t quite cover his transportation and parking costs. Then after a short break of thirty-five or forty years as an executive and leadership coach, Bob reactivated his passion for writing. The alternatives he considered were learning to yodel or trying to play the bagpipes. Bob’s loving and supportive family voted enthusiastically, and quickly, for writing.