Monday, April 25, 2011

STUpid Mistakes

Well I finally failed in the A to Z challenge, so I'm just going to cheat to make things all right. Since I missed S and T, I'll just add them to U to make the word Stupid. That's right, the letters of the day combine to make STUpid.

Have you ever done anything stupid in your writerly/artistic/musical efforts? I have for sure. When I had the flu I kept forcing myself out of bed to edit my first draft. With body temp going up and down, I was determined to fix what I thought to be horrible grammar mistakes, only to spend many months afterwards fixing the fixes. Oh how I regret that mistake! Another one was sending out my manuscript before it was ready. I thought it was ready, but know now to put a manuscript aside and work on something else for a while. Doing so gives you the needed space and gives you perspective. Always, always wait before querying.

But in the end, every stupid mistake was worth it, really. With humility, we can all appreciate the stupid things because they help us to grow, they give us depth, they make the ending so much sweeter.

So, what are the stupid things you've done in your chosen craft?

12 comments:

  1. Mistakes are just experience...

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  2. Mistakes make me a smarter, kinder, more loving person.

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  3. I love what both of you have just said. Mistakes are the breeding ground for humility, one of the most valuable things a human can have, in my eyes.

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  4. Exactly what mbj and starting over have said, mistakes are what you learn from. I think I'd need a roll of wallpaper to list all the mistakes I've made in my life. Amy I think one of the things I've learned though,is when things go pear shaped,as they sometimes do, sweep up the broken bits, shove them in the bin and keep going! Love Molly xxx

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  5. Good advice Molly. It's hard to forget to let go sometimes, but I can see it's the healthy thing to do. Love you too xxxx

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  6. I carved 6 fingers onto a classical stone figure once.

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  7. Ha! I can just picture you now . . . standing back to look at the whole piece and seeing that extra finger. And the words. The words that came out of your mouth, haha.

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  8. Learning from our mistakes is how we grow. As a chef sometimes a mistake is a disaster and sometimes I have created a dish even better than the original.

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  9. Failed?! Are you kidding... you rocked this out!!!! Congrats on succesfully still carrying on the A to Z challenge!!

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  10. Sandy, I love that example. Food is truly a great way to learn about failure and success! Thanks for that!

    Jen- Thank you so much. And you rock big time, beautiful girl!

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  11. You didn't miss S and T, Amy; you just for got to write them down.

    S was for Saia, and T was for Talented.

    Bisou, Cro.

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  12. Ya got me Cro. I'm totally blushing here! Thanks for the compliment, dear friend. Peace.

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