Fruits of Our Labor

I am committed to the process, in gardening and writing. I love starting seeds and stories. Wondering what the final result will be. Working for weeks, months, maybe years before a project bears fruit.

I enjoyed a garden salad made from my deck garden bounty of cucumbers and tomatoes. This was the reward for the work of preparing the soil in my grow-boxes, starting seeds, protecting the plants through hail storms, and watering, watering, watering.

I have had years of crop failure, when I got very little produce from my garden. Devastating hail storms leveled a garden more than once, just as the plants reached their peak. Now I protect my container garden with hail cloth.

How do I protect my writing projects from failure? The only way is to write the best stories I possibly can, editing and rewriting, and listening to my critique partners.

I have not lost a crop since using hail cloth. I have "lost" writing projects. I have spent weeks creating proposals for my agent, only to have them shot down by the publisher. I have optimistically sent short stories off to anthologies and magazines, then received rejections. There is no fail-proof way to protect my fragile young stories.

My garden is bearing fruit. I'm trying to keep up with harvesting, and processing the herbs and vegetables for later use. I am waiting to hear news on a couple of my writing projects. I used to become anxious while waiting for an approval or rejection. Now I move on to the next story idea. When my writing bears fruit, the next steps can be as hectic as freezing and canning vegetables. 

​Relax. Enjoy where you are in the process.

Even if my garden, or my latest story idea, fails - I will keep going. Receiving the fruits of our labor is a wonderful reward for hard work, but commitment to the process will yield results for a lifetime.

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