“Something Good” Sunday
Josh and I got married in 2013. June 22 to be exact. Two weeks before our wedding date, we had no real plans. We had the church reserved and that was about it. I think we may have already worked it out with his sister to have the reception at her house. But that was about it. Two weeks out and we still weren’t sure about getting married. Our relationship, like so many others, had its ups and downs. That year, we were trying to recover from the downs. And getting married was a touchy subject. But nobody knew that. It was something Josh and I were working out ourselves. My mom continually asked me for updates on our plans and I continually had no updates to give her. Until two weeks before. She called and when I again had no update for her, she said and I quote, “Well get off your ass and do something then!”. When your mother tells you to get off your ass and do something, that’s what you do. So our entire wedding… buying the dress, Josh’s suit, ordering the cake, the flowers, all the things, happened in two weeks. And honestly, we have no regrets.
Last night, Josh and I had a conversation about what I post on social media and how that relates to my writing. To be honest, I haven’t done much writing lately. I have worked on transcribing my journals, but not with any urgency or true devotion. I’ve been creating videos and other content to post on my social media accounts. I’ve also been working on yarn projects and trying to read another book from my to-be-read pile. It’s almost like I haven’t been so serious and devoted to my writing as I could/should be.
Since I’ve entered some Writer’s Digest competitions, I’m on their mailing list. Yesterday afternoon, I got an email advertising a personal essay class. That’s exactly what I need! I have previously written lots of personal essays and submitted them to various publications. They’ve all been rejected. This class is 12 weeks and broken down into 6 modules. Every two weeks you submit an essay. Because the instructor gives lots of individualized feedback, there are only 8 spaces in the class. Man did everything about that class speak to what I need and what I had been trying to do. I was basically writing blind. I’ve never gotten feedback, except for one publication where I paid extra for it. I have no idea how to write a good essay other than just write it and hope somebody likes it. However, upon further examination, the class was $600! Well, $599.99 to be exact. I have a tattoo scheduled for next Friday. The estimate on the tattoo is more than the cost of the class. I knew then that I couldn’t take this class. Sorry, better luck next time.
While Josh and I were talking last night about what is and what isn’t happening right now with my writing, I got a very familiar feeling. It felt like he was telling me, in his own way, the same thing my mother told me two weeks before our wedding. He was constructively telling me to get off my ass and do something. That’s when I told him about the class. His reply came quickly…if I wanted to take the class, he’d pay for it. He told me to think about it. So I did.
I looked again at the structure of the class and what we should expect. Basically, if I’m going to do this class justice, I need to take it very, very seriously. I need to make my goal of being a published writer my primary focus. That means not posting to social media as much, if at all. I’m good with that. I was mainly doing it so publishers would see that I have a large enough following of people that would likely buy my book. Social media is a time suck, and I’ll be glad to not post anymore. I look at it this way…publishers would likely give me a chance if they see my social media following, yes. But I’m nearly certain that having some publishing credits to my name will carry a similar, if not the same, weight. I read the part of the class descripiton of where previous students have been published. I also read that as part of the class, you get a curated list of publications to submit your writing. Social media? Don’t know her. Seriously, I really am fine with that.
On that same thread…it also means that I may have to break my daily blogging streak. I know there are some very successful, popular bloggers that don’t post every day. But my streak is over a year long! It’s going to be broken. I’ll still post here when the daily prompt speaks to me. I’ll also post updates as I go through the class. (Thank you Tracie for the idea)! That will take some of the pressure off feeling like I have to post every day.
But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to learn everything I can from this class. So when we got home from dinner, I registered for it. It starts on June 18th and runs until September 10th. That’s a good way to spend my summer actually!
I’m very excited about this. I’m also very nervous. Individualized feedbak from a very professional, very much published writer is intimidating. What if my ideas aren’t good? What if I just don’t get the hang of it by the end? What are the other students going to be like? Have they been published before? They’re probably much better writers than me. I mean, it’s not a competition, but I just don’t want to be bad at this. There’s a question on the FAQ page of the class website and it asks, “What kind of person/writer should take this class?” I check all the boxes on the list.
You know what though? At the end of the day, this is a learning opportunity. I will end the class with more knowledge about how to write a personal essay than I started with. And this class is through Writer’s Digest! Are you kidding me?! In my mind, Writer’s Digest is pretty elite! This will be good.
So, before it starts on Thursday, I guess I better finish the other two Harry Styles outfits. I got the second one started and finished yesterday. I need to be ready to devote my full time and attention to this class. This is me, getting off my ass and doing something. Here I go…
Want to help me accomplish my dream of being a paid writer? Buy me a coffee!
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