Drawing Lines

This has been a week of drawing lines under things. Some things just don’t work and it’s better to move on than to wallow. And I think as writers we’re (well I’m talking about me, can’t speak for anyone else) often guilty of wallowing. Of perpetual waiting. Of plodding on and hoping that whatever it is we’re waiting for will happen, eventually. We’ve got to be, I suppose. That’s how stories and novels get written, it’s how we cope with waiting months for decisions from editors on our work.

But we can’t be like that with everything. It isn’t healthy. And carrying the weight of expectation around with us can be a bind. It can be heavy. It can be a waste of time as well.

So this week I’ve made decisions.

A long story I’ve been working on for AGES isn’t working. I left it for a months, came back to it and thought – nope. It isn’t good enough – it isn’t even particularly good. So I’ve drawn a line under it. I am not going to worry about it anymore. On with the next.

Likewise, if the local arts festival doesn’t want me to do anything for it, if the organisers aren’t going to get back to me, why should I care? If they don’t want me (which, thinking about it, has been evident on many occasions), why should I worry about it? Why would I want to be involved where I’m not wanted? So I’m not going to bother about it anymore. I’m going to get on with what I do, and that’s write stories and run workshops. I’m better at doing those things than I am at waiting and getting cross.

There. I feel better already. A weight off my mind.

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Nik Perring is a short story writer, author, teacher of writing, and editor from the UK. His books include the widely celebrated Not So Perfect (Roastbooks, 2010), and A Book of Beautiful Words (2014). He co-wrote Freaks! (TFP/HarperCollins 2012), and A Book of Beautiful Trees is out in 2015.

0 thoughts on “Drawing Lines”

  1. Tis true. Full stops can be great.As far as the arts bods go, it’s up to them. No point me wasting time and energy on it when there’s other things I can be worrying about! ;)N

  2. Nik, you’re so right. I am quite a “wallower” myself, sometimes you can get stuck deep into it and not be able to extricate yourself. Glad you have drawn your lines, both about what you yourself can control and what you can’t. PS If that long story isn’t working, perhaps – in the future, not know – you can try rewriting it as a flash? I’ve done that a few times, worked really nicely!

  3. Thanks Poppy! Daft thing is I enjoy working, I enjoy doing things like that so I would have liked to have been involved. Not much point when you’re not wanted though eh? And it was hardly going to be career defining! ;)Nik

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