I always have the first Saturday in May marked on my calendar. Even though I have never been in person, this Tennessee girl loves to watch the Kentucky Derby. They make a day of what has become known as the fastest two minutes of sports.
I enjoy the back stories of the owners, trainers and horses. I love seeing all the high fashion of rich and famous and those who pretend to be for a day. Of course, the most fashionable of all are hats and fascinators. For us country folk, a fascinator is a small hat or a piece of hat that is worn to one side of the head.
The Derby is steeped in tradition such as singing, “My Old Kentucky Home” and the Bugler playing the “Call to Post.” It has many others too numerous to mention. While all of these fashions and traditions are wonderful fun, they really don’t affect the outcome of the race. However, there is one tradition that does and that is the command of “Riders Up.” The call tells the jockey to mount his horse for the race. The jockey is the driving and guiding force of the race.
Writing is a lot like a horse race. Grab the reins and hold on, I’m going somewhere with this. While we don’t want to think about racing against other writers the truth is if your article is not in that magazine somebody else’s will be. If your book is not on the shelf, the customer will buy someone else’s book.
The writer’s race is much more. We race against deadlines and sometimes we win by a fraction of the nose like this year’s Derby winner did. We race against other things such as housework, jobs, family and social schedules. Many times, we leave our writing to wander around the paddock with no guiding force.
Jockeys are trained and they have honed their craft so to speak. They spend time learning how to use the tools of their trade, strategizing the logistics of the race and being in the right mindset to race. However, none of the hard work of the jockeys would matter if they never got on the horse.
Do you know how you can tell if you have honed your writing craft? Go back and look at some of your early writings, if you cringe at how bad they are that probably means you have been honing. Go to conferences, network, follow other writers on social media. All of this is important, but it matters little if you never get on the horse.
The experienced jockeys win races, but every jockey had to have their first win. The old saying still rings true, “Writers write.” So, it’s time to get on the horse and get your writing to the gate. To that I say, “Writers up!”
Sue Davis Potts is a freelance writer from Huntingdon, Tennessee. She is mother to her beautiful adult daughter, Jessa. Sue enjoys writing for both children and adults. She worked for years as a preschool teacher but feels most at home these days with other writers who speak her language. She has been published in local magazines, anthologies, Ideals, Southern Writer’s Magazine and Focus on the Family’s children’s magazines Clubhouse and Clubhouse, Jr.
She authored a children’s library book. She is the author of a book of short motivations 101 Life Lessons From Uno (The One-Legged Duck) and coauthored. The Priceless Life (The Diane Price Story). Both books are available on Amazon. Sue can be found on her website, www.suedavispotts.com.
Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.
