Welcome to another spotlight of our Insecure Writer's Support Group community! This week, we're asking the question:
Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?
To address this question, I need to define what I believe the term risk-taker means.
According to Merriam-Webster, a risk-taker is:
a person who is willing to do things that involve danger or risk in order to achieve a goal
Hmm . . . danger is not my forte; however, I am open to stretching my current skills to make them grow.
- Constant learners
- Trust their gut
- Embrace change
- Accept defeat & learn from it
- Set high goals
- *somewhat of a gambler
I believe that my evolution as a writer is where any risk-taking has come into play. When I first began writing, I had zero idea who to write. I had zero idea how to structure a paragraph or chapter let alone an entire story. But I wanted to learn. (That covers setting high goals element. And yes, it was a high goal at first. LOL)
And I love continuing to learn. (That covers Constant learner.)
Embracing change and Accepting defeat/learning from it was the hardest risk-taker characteristic for me to take. And I did so, at first, with my head hung low, my heart in my gut. It was when I separated from my first agent. I was down, but soon realized I wasn't out. So I eventually sold both my manuscripts on my own.(Here's where I embraced my inner gambler.)
And with things going so well . . . they soon fell apart, again, with the closing of my middle grade publisher. That was my true defeat. But only until I accepted it, brushed myself off, and learned to read myself better. Which brings me to the final point. (Trusting my gut.)
I'd say trusting my gut has been the element I've most recently embraced. I might not know the future or the outcome of my decisions, but I do know my-writer-self much better - what I'm willing to do or compromise, what I'm willing to wait for, and what I'm willing to risk.
What about you? Do you trust your gut?
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SHERI~