Oct 21, 2010

Look Beyond What You See

All morning yesterday, I kept thinking about how dreary the day was, how everything seemed blah and uninteresting. As it came time to pick my son up from therapy, the fuel light came on in my car, giving me one more reason to groan. A few minutes later I pulled into the nearby Chevron and filled up my car. (It took 16.2 gallons and the car's only supposed to hold 16 gallons--whew!) When I was finished, the little gas pump asked me if I wanted a discounted car wash. Not wanting to spend anymore money, I hesitated, then turned to see that my white car was almost unrecognizable (we live on a long dirt road).

I quickly pushed the little button, buying my car wash and then made my way to the automated machine that would scrub all that dirt and grime and dead bugs away. As I pulled out into the sunlight, I realized something. The day had suddenly brightened and everything looked vibrant and colorful.

Like . . . DUH!!!

All this time I'd been thinking the world around me was dull and uninteresting, when it was just my perception as seen through my dirty windshield.

I think life is like this in a lot of ways. Sometimes the way we see things isn't exactly how they are, but how we think they are because of the distorted view we have. It's like judging someone by their outward appearance and not by the real person that thrives within them. It's also like judging an entire book and its author by a short, one page query letter.

Can you tell what I've been working on lately?

Yep, I'm revamping my query AGAIN! It's amazing how a writer can spend months writing the great American novel (stop laughing. I'm allowed to dream), but then chokes on creating a one page document that means the difference between success as an author and complete and utter rejection. It's crazy. But I'm determined to get it right, so I'm throwing it all out there. This time I'm not just selling my book, but I'm bragging about all my good points. I DO have good points, ya know. Lots of them. Their just hidden behind my dirty windshield. LOL

Am I like this little kitten, seeing myself as much more than I really am?  I'd like to believe this new attitude of mine is confidence. How do you see yourself and your work? I'd like to know.

3 comments:

  1. yah. how i wish to hit a few people over the head with this post today. LOL Myself included. Very well said. would you mind if i host the first part of your blog on my website? i could use the reminder every time i open it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hate writing the dreaded query. I almost finished with my WIP and am eager to start on edits and revising. I like doing all that, but am not looking forward to writing the query. Thanks for the post! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hurray for confidence and seeing clearly! Good luck on the query. I hope it goes well!

    ReplyDelete