Write2Ignite

I was born with flat feet, the kind that leaves rectangular blobs instead of footprints in the sand. As a young child I had to wear special shoes with an orthopedic pad inside to help my arch. And, I remember that my feet would get so painful that my mother would have to rub and rub and rub them at night before putting foot medicine on them in order for me to fall asleep.

Thankfully, my feet did feel better over time, so eventually I stopped wearing the orthopedic pads before I got to high school. But now as I’m in my early 60s, I notice the pains are coming back, and with a vengeance!

So what does flat feet have to do with writing? Lots!

Identify There is an Issue

Last May I started getting pains in my feet again, particularly in my left foot and inner ankle, and especially when I woke up in the morning and had to get out of bed. Ouch! Trying to find a reasonable solution that wasn’t crazy expensive, I went to see my chiropractor who began working on my tendons and ligaments to try to ease my pain.

Sometimes we don’t realize our writing is falling flat and that we need help. Writing may not cause you pain, per se, but there may be an area of weakness – dialogue difficulties, story line doesn’t flow, excessive use of passive voice, trouble with tenses or sentence structure – that could use some extra support. An easy fix would be to seek help in a critique group. Having to “hear” your words and having others make encouraging suggestions are great ways to get some immediate help.

Try Different Solutions

The chiropractor helped a bit, but the pain in my foot was not going away. So I went to a podiatrist. I also looked into healthy options, like adding turmeric and ground black pepper to my food to help reduce inflammation. That helped a lot.

If you see your writing still needs work, try some one on one with a writing mentor. One of my writing friends would hold mini workshops in her home. These were great because not only did I get to share and get helpful critiques about my writing, but she also gave me some worksheets that helped with structure and formatting.

Know When to Make a Bigger Investment

The next step for me was to look at the shoes I was wearing, but I knew this would be a big investment. Special insoles and problem-specific shoes aren’t cheap. But, I know that as I age, I don’t want my feet to keep me from moving forward (literally and figuratively), so I took the big step and went to a specialty foot store. An hour later (and after paying $250 – yikes!), I had an insole that I could put into any of my shoes, and I had a new pair of hiking boots, too, to get me back onto trails that I hadn’t been on since last year.

Writing classes – such as Write2Ignite’s Master Classes or courses at a community college – will go a long way in improving your weak writing areas. Yes, some classes can be costly. But if writing is your passion and you want to see yourself published in some way, shape, or form, then that may be an option to take to make your writing stand out to a publisher or editor.

Taking a realistic look at your writing can sometimes be painful; but just like getting the right shoes and insoles can bring great comfort, so can choosing a serious course of action help you advance your writing skills and keep you from falling flat!

What have you done or intend to do to improve your writing skills?

Unsplash Photo Credits: Aedrian, Billie, Gabrielle Henderson, and The Climate Reality Project.

Catherine L. Osornio has written inspirational articles for a women’s ministry newsletter, over 200 leveled reader stories for a school’s reading program, fiction and nonfiction articles for Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines, The Declaration of Independence from A to Z, Thunder Comes a Rumblin’, plus various work-for-hire projects. A former elementary school librarian, Catherine is passionate about sharing the love of reading. She enjoys cartooning, illustration, and reading kids’ books. Email her at CLOsornio@verizon.net or visit her at www.catherineosornio.com.