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What Have You Written Lately?

By Amy Holmes posted 11-28-2014 22:27

  

Many years ago the pharmacy where I was working was going through a period of low morale.  Part of a teambuilding strategy was a game in which each employee wrote their dream job on a slip of paper and submitted it anonymously.  The object was to guess which dream job went with which coworker.  It was a lot of fun! 

On my slip of paper I wrote, “NY Times best-selling author.”  When I was a young person in school I enjoyed writing.  As a grown up, I had not really done anything to pursue it.  There are several authors that I admire and none more so than Tess Gerritsen whose first career was medicine and Linda Fairstein who practiced law before picking up the pen.  Maybe there’s still hope for me to have a second career?

Fast forward to sometime last year when I told a friend that I liked to write.  He asked the fateful question, “What have you written lately?”  I didn’t really have an answer for him.  I had gotten so wrapped up in the ins and outs of daily life that I had not taken the time to sit down and put any thoughts on paper.  Not long after that I started writing.  One thing in particular I wrote for myself as a way to work through my feelings during the transition between residency classes.  I liked what I had written, but I didn’t know what to do with it.  That became my first blog.  Writing the blog has been fun.  I love when I get comments from others who “get me”. 

I have found other writing projects to work on.  I have set goals for myself regarding where I want to publish.  Some I have met while some remain elusive.  All of these goals have been pharmacy related.  I pitched an idea for an article on medications and breastfeeding to Parents magazine and never received a response, not even a form letter.  A little commentary that I wrote on pharmacy practice was rejected by AJHP but accepted by Drug Topics.  I’ve learned to look it at as, “What do I have to lose?” rather than “What if they say no?” when making submissions.  Getting over the fear of rejection has opened more potential for opportunity!

One of my favorite things to do at Midyear is to visit the Bookstore and peruse the book selection.  I love books, and I buy them compulsively.  I limit myself to one book at each Midyear.  One year, the book that I selected was the Complete Guide to Medical Writing.  A chapter in that book gave me the idea to submit to Parents.  I am currently working on my own book for ASHP and anticipate seeing my book at the Bookstore in New Orleans in 2015.

A very dynamic speaker that I saw this spring advised a room full of residents and preceptors that in order to get better at writing, you had to practice writing.  You have to exercise your writing muscles.  Start a journal she said.  So I have been writing about everything – even about writing!  I may be exercising my writing muscles at the expense of my housecleaning muscles and my actual physical muscles.  I would benefit from a little more balance for sure.

I’ll continue to work at this writing thing.  I plan to continue submitting articles as long as the ideas are coming.  I think I’ll just follow where it leads for a while.  If it should happen to grow into something bigger, then that will just be icing on the cake!

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12-02-2014 07:28

Amy - thank you for your insightful and inspiring blog post! I too enjoy writing and always have, but like you said, it is too easy to get wrapped up in the routine of daily life! Perhaps I should start blocking writing time for myself. I look forward to seeing your book :)