When Your Story Loses its Oars

[image error]

I’ve been working on my revisions for a picture book, rather intensely, over the last month.

I reached out to new contacts and made more contacts, but kept falling short of the answers I needed.

To top it off, what I started to discover was that I had incorrect parts in my manuscript. But without the needed answers I couldn’t fix the mistakes. And, I could not resubmit the piece in the current state. I felt like a boat at sea who lost its oars.

There I was sitting in the boat, the water around me calm, the oars floating away. I struggled to make them out as they disappeared beyond the horizon. A storm was nowhere in sight, just my boat and I, stranded in the calmest of waters. We are not sure how long we will be there in the silence. The boat and I.

Sure, I could hand paddle back to a shore, somewhere out of view. I know it’s there, but I’m not about to waste my time if the oars come floating back. Yet, with my new knowledge, I only had two options. Wait for the oars or let the boat sink.

I decided to wait…..(flailed my arms a bit and ate too much chocolate)

And would you believe the oars came back and brought more oars with them?!

Readers, don’t give up on your stories. Seek out help, try new avenues. It’s worth it and you might even learn something new.