Some Changes Have Merit

If you read these entries very much, you know that I’m a plodder, consistent type of writer. It’s a valuable quality for the writing life.  To write various books, you need to set some solid goals and consistently produce pages or words or however you measure it. To edit manuscripts or to evaluate manuscripts for a publisher, it’s the same type of quality. There is something valuable about persistence and simply showing up each day and moving the process ahead.

In the middle of this routine type of activity, change rears it’s head. I’m as resistant to change as the next person. I like to keep doing things the same way—except that’s not reality.  Editors change places.  The market shifts. Magazines come and go in the business. It’s a part of our life—and something we need to learn how to adapt. If you didn’t catch the cover story from Fast Company which I mentioned a couple of months ago, follow this link to read it. It is called, Change or Die.

Everyone thinks I’m pretty technical—mostly because of the volume of material on Right-Writing.com. I don’t believe it when someone writes or applauds my technical skills. I have the same challenges as others in this area. Yesterday  afternoon I began to wonder if I could change the color of my entries on the Writing Life. I was tired of the olive, red pattern which came with this template. At the same time, I was grateful for the basic template and how easy it was to install. I’ve maintained the same design and changed my color scheme.  Through trial and error, I learned how to change the colors and bring a slightly different look to these entries. From my perspective, this change makes the entries more readable and a cleaner design. I hope you agree with the new look and that in this case, the change has merit.

I don’t know what changes you are facing in your own writing life. Maybe you need to open a new window in your own writing and try and different type of writing. Maybe you need to dig into learn more about characterization to improve your fiction. Possibly you need to learn more about the book publishing world and the marketplace from reading my Book Proposals That Sell. Or maybe you need to hone your interview skills with another magazine article assignment. Get the assignment first through writing a query letter, then snag your interview and get it written on the deadline.

And when those changes come into your life—and they will come—try to welcome them and go with the flow rather than resisting. It might just simplify your path.