Sending It Out

By Megan Cutter, cuttersword.com

The past two months, Barton and I have been sending out proposals – a major one each week. We have dedicated Fridays as our day, and while we may schedule one or two meetings, carving out time has been essential to work on some of the larger projects together. These proposals have been everything from contract proposals, grant applications, a book proposal and scholarships.

What I have found over the last two months is a transformative shift. I have found myself excited and motivated to be working on some of these larger projects. While normally I am a little anxious and tend to put a great deal of emotional weight into a proposal, I have been able to let go of the outcome and have fun writing on these projects and spending time working with Barton. Together, we’ve seen each other get excited about different aspects of a particular project, which has then motivated the other.

We don’t know any of the outcomes of our efforts yet, and that’s okay. There is a movement forward, and we know that just in going through the process of sending material out, there is a great deal of vision, learning, and exploration with new aspects of our work.

This has given me the freedom to be creative, find a belief in my work that is not attached to being accepted by a third party, and discover new areas of work. As a writer, it’s important to me to come back to writing, to come back to my vision. Even if the work isn’t ready or isn’t accepted, it’s important to discover the joy in the process itself.

As writers, when we put work out there, people will have an opinion. Of course we want people to love our work or agree with our point of view, but that isn’t always the case. I discovered this when I wrote an article for the local newspaper about a website for stay-at-home fathers. What I didn’t know was that there were behind-the-scenes issues between the fathers’ group and a similar group for mothers. Being able to come back to the writing and to the vision helps me find my center when there are differing opinions or challenges that come up during the process.

How do you find your center? It may be in the time you write or the place, or journaling apart from other writing projects. Take the time to discover and nurture your vision.