This Could be the Year

Do you know your Chinese horological sign? Why not look it up right now. This year is the Year of the Sheep. The Chinese are very superstitious people. Most won’t do anything important until they consult their daily horoscope. Your Chinese horological sign—Monkey, Pig, Tiger, Snake, Rooster, Rat, Rabbit, Horse, Dog, Ox, Dragon, or Sheep —comes around every 12 years from the year your were born. For some people, those years turn out to be the best in their lives. Is this your year? If so, it could also be the year you get published. There shouldn’t be anything holding you back, but for many beginning writers, the fear of getting published overwhelms them.

You’ve probably been writing for several years if not longer. During that time, you looked ahead to the day your dream of getting published will become a reality. So why haven’t you been published yet? You’ve slaved over what you consider your best work, but each time you send a piece out to a publication, it comes back with a vague rejection letter or Email, if the publication even returns it to you.

As the New Year moves forward, it’s time for you to take the bull by the horns, as the old saying goes, and make a concerted effort to get something—anything—published. Make that your primary goal for 2015. And if you’ve already been published, try to get more pieces published in better markets.

Fear can be a mind-numbing thing. It takes hold of every part of your body. It prevents you from thinking of new ideas. It stifles your creativity. It hinders you from acting logically when sending out your work to publications. Do you get shivers down your spine each time you hit the “Post” button on Facebook? Just imagine what it will be like when you finally publish a print book or ebook.

Writing for the public is like speaking in public. Either way, you bare your soul, then sit back and wait for all to judge you. So how can you take control of this gigantic fear and get something published?

Write with a single person or reader in mind. This could be a friend, a member of your family, or someone you know only slightly. Write to them and for them. Speak to them with your words. Talk directly to them.  Forget about the rest of society. If what you write is good, the rest will jump on board soon enough.

As far as publication goes, begin with a small audience. Small publications are far less restrictive and their readerships are far less demanding than those of the big markets. They’ll support you as you improve your writing skills. Too many aim for the best magazines or look up to bestselling authors. In writing, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. Forget those dreams of sudden fame—they’re fleeting at best.

Get over the idea of perfection. Most beginning writers freeze up when they think that everything they write needs to be perfect. Perfection is a subjective thing. It’s all in the eye or mind of the reader. Let’s face it, not everyone will think your work is great. And that’s okay.

Every writer has something to say—even you. And what you say may just help someone. Always think of that when you’re writing. You learn by making mistakes and sharing those mistakes with your readers.

And just for one moment, forget what other people may think of your work. It’s what you think of it that matters most. Remember, there are other writers out there fighting off their fear as well. By attempting to overcome your fear of publication, you’ll become a better writer.

Backyard Inspiration

Do you feel like you need to go someplace special or exotic to be inspired? Do you look for an awesome place to become inspired. That place can be as near as your backyard. Maybe not literally, but close enough. There’s probably a lot all around you that you never see—or at least take for granted. But it takes more than just being in a special place or even a familiar one to be inspired.

Inspiration is a result of accidental stimuli. If that’s so, then it stands to reason that you’ve been waiting around for an accident. At some point in your life you’re bound to have some sort of accident. Perhaps in a car or a fall, or some other harm may come to you. It could be as small as dropping a plate in the kitchen. Essentially, that means you’ve probably been waiting around for an idea to strike. And chances of that are about as high as getting struck by lightening.

So how can you get inspired? To be inspired requires some amount of preparation. Not preparation in the classic sense, but preparation nonetheless. Perhaps it may mean an increased interest in a particular subject Your innate curiosity may lead you to learn more and more about a subject, so that when stimuli accidentally comes along, you’re prepared to become inspired.

You won’t be inspired in a vacuum. Sitting in a chair in your living room won’t inspire you. But sitting there watching an engaging documentary or an old horror film just may inspire you to write something on one of the subjects of these films, especially if the films cover subjects for which you have an intense interest.
                   
There’s no mistaking that many consider travel a natural way to get inspired—to let things come along. Traveling to places that are similar to each other may lead to a complacency that stifles inspiration. But traveling to a place that offers a complex and very different culture from your own may inspire you in ways that you can’t imagine.

One writer who had traveled literally all over the world had the opportunity to travel to Russia soon after the fall of Communism. He knew little about the Russian culture, but understood foreign cultures from his travels to other exotic countries. When he arrived on Russian soil, he realized that this culture was like no other he had ever seen. The landscape was different, the culture was different, the people were different. In fact, they spoke an especially foreign sounding language he really hadn’t heard much before and couldn’t read.

But being assaulted by lots of accidental stimuli can be as bad as complacency. It’s a challenge to sift through it all and find a nugget of an idea or two that’s worth developing. Being different is of itself not enough. You must recognize the difference as it relates to you and your interests. What impressed the writer above was the warmth of the Russian people and how the culture was so very different from what he had been taught about Russia. He realized the richness of Russian history and became enveloped in it.

You may also be inspired by the details of nature. While a beautiful landscape may have an effect on you, it’s the little things you notice along the way—the delicate sculptural quality of a fungus on a tree trunk or the super size and brilliant color of a tropical jungle flower.

You can literally find inspiration in your backyard. A stand of bamboo, though small, may give you the feeling of being in a Chinese forest. The only thing missing are the pandas. Now take a closer look and become inspired.