Speaking of winning, I just wanted to let everyone know that my 'BlogOholics Anonymous' post is being featured on the Blog Entourage today. If you're not a follower of the B.E., I'd highly recommend it. They feature some great blogs (at least I'm telling myself that today), and offer opportunities for you to gain some exposure for your own blog. Plus, I'll be monitoring the comments today and I'd love to see some familiar faces!
Here's the link.
What do you consider to be a writing 'win'?
I also thought I'd take this opportunity to ask you all about your idea of 'winning' in the writing game. When I started writing, I thought my idea of winning was publication. That's it. However, I've noticed that my idea of winning has become increasingly simplistic.
For instance, having a blog post recognized and featured on another popular blog makes me feel like a winner. Having people say nice things about my blog in the comments, or seeing other people share my thoughts on Twitter also feels like a win.
Looking back, I'd compare my initial idea of the writing win to driving toward a mountain that you intend to climb. On the way there, your goal is pretty simple: get to the top. Then, once your standing so close to the base of the mountain that you can no longer see the top, you realize you've got more to worry about than simply standing on the summit. You're going to have to first find a path through that gnarly looking brush, then you're going to have go around those impossibly large boulders, and so on.
I guess I'm trying to say that the peak no longer seems like the most relevant thing.
As far as 'real' writing goes I'm noticing more and more often that whenever I re-read something I've written, if it brings a smile to my face, I feel like I've accomplished something important. Sort of like I'm becoming a fan of my own work, so to speak. (Which hasn't always been the case.) That's so far away from my original ideas of success it's not even funny.
I know many writers use word counts, etc. as tangible goals. So what standards of accomplishments do you have? Have they changed over time?
~EJW~
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