Miss Elsa’s Lesson for Writers: What My One-Year Old Great Granddaughter Taught Me About Writing

As I was watching Miss Elsa, my beautiful almost one-year-old great granddaughter, learning to walk, it occurred to me that a process we all take for granted was once a major challenge. And what really impressed me is how she went about acquiring the ability to go from one place to another on her two little legs and tiny feet, limbs and appendages she was hardly aware of to begin with.

I realized that her learning process had some profound lessons for us as writers.
• First, she was single-minded and on-purpose. Once she realized walking was possible, she chose to go everywhere on two feet. Never mind that she often fell down. Unless there was some tight spot she couldn’t get through standing up, she was up trying to walk.
• Second, she is Unstoppable. If someone or something gets in her way, she’ll walk around them or it. And she keeps on going. She’ll walk from the front door to the kitchen to the living room and back again, just because she can.
• Third, she is failure-proof. When she started off she fell down every few steps. She realized, however, that all she had to do was to get up and she could be off on her mission again. Getting up became easy, and falling down became less frequent. Even when she fell in a way that would cause any adult to wince, she just popped right up, because getting up after falling down had become second nature for her.
And you know this is a proven formula for success. We all learned to walk quite well—right?

How Does This Apply To Writing?

First, Be Single-minded and On-purpose. To do this you have to have a goal. For example, “I’m going to finish one short story each month for the next six months and submit each one as I complete it. I will then have my work circulating and greatly increase my chances of becoming a writer who is supported by her/his work and be accumulating credits.”

You have to have a plan to reach that goal—i.e., “I’m going to research the best places to submit my style of work, whether to magazines, literary journals or reviews, or contests.” Become familiar with the best ones likely to accept (and pay for) it.

Seond, Be Unstoppable. If rejections seem unending, learn why. Do you need to be more selective in where you submit your work? Have you sufficiently reviewed the type of material your target publishes? Are you familiar with their audience? Remember the mantra of the four Ss: “Some will, Some won’t, So what, Someone’s waiting (to publish your work).”

Third, Be Failure-proof. Remember that challenges—like “falling down”— are part of the process. Get up and keep on going. In time, the getting up will become easy and second nature and the challenges will become less frequent. Do you need to rework the story? Do you need to develop your character(s) more fully? Are you telling rather than showing? How is your dialogue? Find or develop a really good critique group. Take the best classes in your genre that you can find.

Would you like a little help in getting back into your one-year-old mindset? Keep these points in mind:
• Clarify your goals and set up a step-by-step plan, in writing, to achieve them.
• Get the knowledge you need to improve your skills.
• Seek out support and guidance to acquire what you might be missing.
• Get the marketing insights for your particular kind of work by reading and researching what’s out there.
You must go out on that literary limb and do it—no whining, no excuses. Your success depends on your diligence and dedication, the investment you make in your art and to improving your craft. If you’re willing to do what it takes you can achieve your goal to become a recognized and successful writer.

Credit where credit is due: Many thanks to my son-in-law, Dr. Richard Odessey, for the concept on which this fun article is based.