4 ways to deal with rejection

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem

Assalam alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatahu.

Peace, blessings and mercy of God be on you (in case you didn’t understand the odd assortment of consonants and vowels above).

Sigh.

Didn’t make the Quest.

There’s part of me that wonders what I did wrong.

And there’s a part of me that knows that I did everything I could and then some.

It’s a funny dichotomy, that. Feels almost schizophrenic. But it’s a good thing – if the outside world doesn’t validate my work, I’m learning to validate myself.

So what did I do in order?

1.       Misery loves company – but only for a while.

I spent a little time among other non-Quest participants on the Black Board. Some ate pie and wept. My poison was blueberry streusel muffins.

Blueberry streusel muffins

These are blasted good. And if you want to offset the delayed gratification of screenwriting with some immediate gratification – there’s nothing like baking.

And eating.

Alhamdulillah (thank God) for muffins.

2.       Congratulate myself on how far I’ve come.

I looked back in horror at the absolute nonsense I sent to Scott last year LOL.

I really have learned a lot. Much more to learn, for sure. But I’ve definitely made great strides by the grace of God.

3.       Make a big goal (thank you Shaula Evans, mod of the Black Board, for this one).

I need to hit the ground running.

That means having at least one feature script on the Black Board by March next year and a total of 4 completed screenplays by then too – well at least three worth talking about. The first one, like my first attempt at the Quest, is rather embarrassing.

I’d also like to get one of my shorts made – either by myself or someone else. A couple of people are interested in some of my short screenplays. I’m going to ride that wave plus explore other beaches.

I really like beating these metaphors to death, huh?

I’m currently rewriting my second feature. Structure is my main focus with this draft. One mouthful of that elephant at a time.

 

We got two new cork boards at the thrift store and a garage sale for two more projects.

Why would people give away cork boards? Don’t they know they’re gold? In any case, Alhamdulillah for thrift stores and garage sales.

4.       Back to work.

It’s funny being my own boss. I don’t know how to reward myself. Whether to reprimand or pat myself on the back. I do alright most days.

Though alright is definitely not good enough.

And I’m noticing I have resistance over certain projects, mostly because of fear of rejection. Those are the ones I need to ride myself about.

Yes, it helps being a bit schizo when you’re an as-yet unproduced screenwriter.

You don’t need to be a writer to face rejection.

Please share anything you’ve learned on your way to greatness in your field. How to roll with the punches.

Watching Rocky might be a good idea right now.

Much love, lovelies.

Wassalam and Fee Amanillah (More peace and go with God)

Sabina.

5 thoughts on “4 ways to deal with rejection

  1. You may have seen me mention this on BB or GITS, but I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. It’s terribly cliche, but I think it’s true. And as I think Mark said — it’s just not our time … yet.

    I truly believe they are circumstances beyond our understanding/control that must be in place before certain victories can be achieved. I believe God is shaping the path, so that when we reach that XYZ milestone, we will flourish all the more. I definitely don’t want to peak prematurely. And as difficult as they may be, the lessons along the way are far too valuable — they do wonders to refine our personal character … heck, to refine our soul.

    … At least that’s what keeps me going … 🙂

    And I’m gonna need that streusel recipe. 😉

    BTW — are you taking Mr. Wonderful through GOYOQ? I plan to stack mine, but can’t decide which one to tackle first ….

    1. Thank you. That’s a good lesson to file away the next time something doesn’t go our way. Hopefully very often – which means that we are learning to be more courageous with our work!

      http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/

      That’s the recipe btw. The ‘to die for’ in the title sold me. You’re going to want to double the quantities – the original recipe made only 6.5 small muffins!

      1. I’m going to take my other logline Facebook Friends through the Quest. And hope to get Mr. Wonderful somewhere near market ready by this year. Bring on the muffins!

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