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Friday, July 12, 2013

Celebrate The Small Things- July 12th

Hosted by Viklit!

This has been a very bipolar week for me, full of ups and downs, testing me and elating me. Let’s start with the down part, since it’s most relevant for writing.

First, I learned that my piece was not selected to compete in Write Club. It was a rather bleak Monday morning to begin with since the first day back at work after a long weekend is always tough. But heading over to D.L.’s site and not reading my pen name on the list was a big blow. Without even realizing it, I’d developed a false sense of confidence over the piece I submitted. And there was really no reason to, given that I let myself wait till the last minute before writing it.

And that’s where the gratitude comes in. Because as soon as I read the first set of stories I knew why my piece hadn’t been picked. 500 words is not a lot to work with and whatever you’re going for you’ve got to go BIG. If it’s action, it’s gotta be action packed. If it’s emotion, it’s gotta be deep emotion. If it’s romance, you gotta leave the reader swooning.  My piece, in addition to not being fleshed out enough (in my appraisal) couldn’t make up its mind. Is it humor, action, YA- what? If I can’t answer that question then the reader certainly won’t be able to.

So I’m grateful for Write Club because it taught me an incredibly valuable lesson. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from the authors who did get chosen to compete (cause everyone of them so far are heavy hitters). I’m grateful for myself choosing not to wallow (because trust me, I SO wanted to) but instead taking it for what it is: an unequivocal learning opportunity. I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I have to say that this incident highlights my growth as a writer. Cause honestly, a year ago I don’t think I would’ve found the gratitude in this. So yay for me!

And, on the other side of the spectrum, the big boost that propelled me out of the hole and straight into the cosmos (and no more than a day later at that): I got my license. I’m a counselor, for those of you who didn’t know, and counselors need to be licensed by the state to practice outside of an agency. I. E. Any therapist you’ve ever seen who had their own private practice and charged your insurance company for a session has a license. For a variety of reasons (which I won’t get into because this post is already way too long) it’s taken me 7 years to finally get mine. 7 YEARS! And it finally happened! WOW!

It’s the biggest development of my professional career since I got my master’s (7 years ago). It’s hugely significant in terms of its implications for job eligibility. And after 7 years you can bet it’s a pretty damned big personal accomplishment. It’s the kind-of thing that’s so exciting you’re actually a little stunned that the rest of the world doesn’t just stop for a minute to throw you an impromptu ticker tape parade. (Though I did get a round of applause in group supervision, which was SO appreciated!) And besides, I KNOW that this is big. So yeah, I’m pretty excited.

And those are the valleys and mountains for me this week. Pretty big on the whole, If I do say so myself. I apologize if this was longer that you’re used to for a blog hop- but it’s not everyday that things like this happen in the world of Bev, so I had to take the time. Thanks for reading.

And now, of course, I invite you to do what you do every Friday: go hop!

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22 comments:

  1. Sounds like you are looking at things in a positive way. Writing is never an easy option! Mega congratulations on the license though, that is definitely cause for celebration.

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  2. We'll have to throw you a parade then! Does this mean you're going into business for yourself soon?
    And sorry you didn't make the Write Club list. But you learned something and can build on that. I admire those who write flash fiction. So few words...

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    1. Yay for parades! I don't have any immediate plans to start my own practice, but I have started the job search for soemthing better than where i'm at.

      And Write Club has been such a great expreience for me, I'm planning to try again next year.

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  3. I've seen Write Club now for the second year and I haven't had the courage to join, so I salute you in being brave enough to try. It's great that you've taken the positives from it. Now you can just vote for your favourites without any pressure.

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  4. Congratulations on your success, that's awesome! A counselor! Don't worry, submit your piece elsewhere! WOW accepts 750 word pieces so rework and try again! You're an awesome writer! Good luck!

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  5. Sorry about Write Club. Your attitude is so much better than mine. I wish I could do that.

    Congratulations on getting your license!! I'm throwing you an imaginary parade right now. ^_^

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  6. Congratulations on your license! Are you going to blog your submission?

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    1. Yes, it will definitely become a Fridayflash one of these weeks.

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  7. Great job on not letting criticism hurt! Gratz on your license!
    Happy Friday!
    Mei @ Diary of a Fair Weather Diver

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  8. Congrats on your license! And way to take a negative and turn it into a positive! :)

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  9. Congrats on getting your license! That's an awesome accomplishment. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  10. Congrats on the license Bev!
    And the Write Club experience is a learning curve... opportunity for growth... congrats on acknowledging it in such a candid manner! You are so brave!
    Writer In Transit

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  11. Feel bad that you didn't make the Write Club list, but you learnt lots, so that counts.

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  12. Way to go, Bev!!! And I've known you all these 7 years. What a journey it's been!

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  13. Congrats on the licence, that sounds like an amazing achievement!

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  14. Mine wasn't selected either, which was a big hit, because I didn't realize some wouldn't be printed and I think mine is a great piece. I guess I should stop wallowing and check out some of the pieces that made it. Just got to squeeze in the time to do it, which I would have MADE the time somehow if I were selected. Writer’s Mark

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  15. Congrats on the license, better luck to try again on the writing!

    Cat

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  16. Congrats on your license! That is a huge accomplishment! You have such a wonderful attitude about your writing experience that I know you'll come back stronger than ever.

    Julie

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  17. Congrats! *sending you a virtual bottle of bubbly and throwing confetti*

    How does July 28th sound for your post date?

    I'll be adding new guest excerpts to the collective story daily, so you'll be able to see where the collaboration is headed. If I recieve the excerpt slotted before yours ahead of posting time, I'll send it to you so you'll have more time to mull it over. I'll provide a link to your inspirational track as soon as it's released by Audiomachine:) Once your part of the story is complete, just send it to me via FB message by the morning of your post date:) The word count is a flexible 150, whatever you need to tell your tale. Have fun!

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    1. July 28th- Marked on the calendar. And I'm setting reminders on my phone to follow daily so I know where everything's headed. Thanks so much for involving me in this, Sam! I'm looking forward to it!

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  18. Congrats on getting your license, Bev!

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  19. Hi, Beverly. Sorry you didn't make Write Club. CONGRATS on your license.

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Thank you for your comment! I will love it and hug it and pet it and call it George. Or, you know, just read and reply to it. But still- you rock!