“Yu Darvish? Who is Yu Darvish and why haven’t I heard of him in writing circles?”
Unless you are a baseball fan, you might not know that he is a talented pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
“Okay, then what does the game of baseball have to do with writing? What can a writer learn from a baseball player?”
Well, it all began this way…
On Tuesday evening, I was sitting alone in a quiet house, having accomplished my writing goals for the day. I had edited and revised a short piece, scheduled a blog post, and had a few ideas swirling around my head for a short story I’m writing. I planned to spend an hour or so reading.
About that time, my husband called to tell me that Yu had pitched seven perfect innings. Thinking I might see history in the making, I turned on Fox Southwest to watch the end of the game.
Eight innings—three batters up, three batters out.
Nine innings—two batters, two pitches, two outs. Only one batter left… Then a base hit. The chance for a perfect game was gone with one swing of the bat.
Many players would have been understandably upset—some even to the point of wanting to quit. Not Yu. He merely smiled and shrugged it off—content with the fact his team won the game. That game is over, but there will be others. He isn’t choosing to dwell on the past, but looks to the future. He knows other chances will come.
In writing, we have setbacks. Sometimes we will come close to achieving a goal only to fall short. Publishers may will reject our articles and manuscripts. A blog post may not generate as much traffic as we had hoped. Some will disagree with and/or be critical of our writing.
Should we be mad and upset? No, we should be more like Yu. While our writing will never be perfect, but we keep writing, keep submitting, and look to the future. Other chances will come.
14 Responses
A really encouraging post, Joan, that inspires as you were similarly inspired. Just goes to show that everything and anything is grist to the mill for writers! Results are not as important as the taking part. Thank you 🙂
That’s true, Joy. We just need to do our best and not give up.
Good advice Joan.
Thanks, Kathleen. (Never thought a baseball player would teach me something about writing.) 🙂
Yu showed us a great attitude to be emulated!Thanks for sharing!
Yes, he did, Joan. Blessings!
Yes, keep looking to the future. And pitching again. Thank you for the reminder to keep writing.
So true, Pamela. We must keep pitching.
A wonderful reminder “Other chances will come.”
Yes, they will Jennifer. Thanks for the visit.
Thanks for these encouraging words, Joan!
It’s funny how encouragement often comes in the most unlikely places. Thanks for stopping by, Maria.
Playing each game day the best I can:) I remember watching my oldest play baseball and pitch in the babe ruth league – some boys cried when things didn’t go well – but with every pitch, I prayed that my son would just do his best. He told me once “I pray the same thing before every pitch” – and I loved his self control, his ability to play each game the best he could – and not get lost in the head games:) Loved your post. Made me so miss baseball!
Love the story about your son. That should be our prayer for all our endeavors – that we do our best. I’ve been a baseball fan for a long time, but never expected to learn a lesson about writing from watching a game!