Z is for Zig Zag

Zig zag

Noun	1.	zigzag - an angular shape characterized by sharp turns in alternating directions a shape having one or more sharp angles
Verb	1.	zigzag - travel along a zigzag path; "The river zigzags through the countryside"

I’ve zig zagged through my entire writing career. The first thing I ever got published was a prayer in True Story magazine. It was called A Prayer from a Divorced Woman. I was paid $25.00 for it. That prayer was the first thing I’d ever mailed out so naturally I thought, “Getting published is easy!” We all know it is not easy.

Sometimes (in my life and in my writing) I feel as though I’ve zigged when I should have zagged. I’ve wandered off on little trails that have taken me to odd places. In 1976 I started the Longview Writers Association which is in Northeast Texas. When I started the group, I wrote short stories and poetry. I submitted faithfully. My writing goals have changed a lot since then. Through the years I’ve zig zagged my way into teaching leisure learning and/or continuing education writing classes, being an editor/writer/photographer of a regional publication, co-editing a literary magazine, writing for newspapers, being president of a writer’s group in Louisiana, writing (and selling) a novel, blogging, being a staff writer for a magazine, encouraging, proofing, editing others and …

I’m still zig zagging my way to a writing career. Doing it all. No, trying to do it all. Every now and then I stop and ask, “Have I accomplished those writing dreams?” Truth is--I have and I haven’t because my dreams are ever changing. When I try to pinpoint why I zig zag, the only thing that pops into my head is that I’ve never taken my dreams too seriously. I stop way too often to smell (and pick) roses along the way, running wildly in other directions when a fresh crop of wild flowers pop up.  

This year in Oklahoma is supposed to be a year of focus for me--a year for some serious accomplishments. There will be: No zig zagging allowed.