Are You A Diamond? I Will Be One Day!

One of the toughest things about writing is the brutal sting of rejection. I'd love to say that when you submit your first story to publishers and literary agents that you won't experience the sting of rejection, but let's face it, I'd be lying. The world can be a cruel place. Rising to the top takes time. We all have to pay our dues. Nothing in life worth having comes easily. The internet is filled with quotes about rejection and success like these.

But, maybe, we need to take a moment to reflect upon the life-cycle of a diamond. First, it starts its life off as the dead remains of trees and plants. Yuck! I don't want to wear that on my finger. Then, after millions of years of hard pressure, it becomes coal-very useful, indeed. Finally, if it's lucky, it receives just the right amount pressure and turns into a priceless, yet flawed diamond. This is a rare and beautiful phenomenon of nature.

We, the apsiring writers of the world, are a lot like pieces coal, unfortunately. First, we start off with thoughts of writing. They are not mature, yet-just little inklings of what is to come in our future if we take the time to develop. We are dead the plants.Yuck! Then, we write and receive feedback. It hurts. A LOT. Sometimes we give up under the pressure. We stop growing and maturing as writers. We are coal-very useful for teaching others to write, but not reaching our fullest potential. So sad:(

But sometimes, we continue on with our writing journey despite the odds-not content with just being lumps of coal. Coal is useful, but we WANT to be diamonds. We NEED to be a diamonds. Diamonds are all we think about. So, we endure all the pressure of the writing world, and come out it as great writers because of our ability to receive criticism and grow from it. We have reached the pinnacle of our life-cycle. We are authors. We ARE AUTHORS!

So, I guess my question to you is this, are you content with being coal? Or, do you want to be diamond? Because you have to want it bad( yes, I know it's technically badly, but work with me).Will you give up because someone tells you that you're not good enough? Or, will you tell them thanks for the feedback( Yes, you must), then try to mold yourself into the writer you want to be?

I think the late Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." So don't let those people make you feel inferior. Who are they anyway? They are just stepping stones to guide you across the ocean toward success. And, although they seem evil now, they ARE actually trying to help you along the way.(Yes, I choose to believe that the REALLY mean ones are too).

Not to mention, their opinion isn't everything. They may HATE your writing, but someone else may LOVE it. Think of them as only one opinion is a sea of opinions. They are just another Average JOE, just like you. They put their pants on one-leg-at-a-time, just like you. They use the bathroom, too, just like you. And, yes, they have their own insecurities about their writing and life, just like. We all do.

The only BIG difference between 'them' and 'you' is this-they didn't give up when they felt the sting of rejection. So you can't either! Not if you want to be a diamond.