Are You a Bird in the Vent?

We've had a bird trying to build a nest in our dryer vent. Quite a capable bird, to lift the outside vent while carrying twigs into dryer hose. A week ago it knocked the hose free and was trapped in our laundry room. I went in there and saw it had flown behind the curtain. It was trying to get out the closed window. It fluttered back and forth, hitting the window then the curtain. It didn't give up.

This event got me thinking about writing. When we start out we struggle to get that first draft down. Often writers find it too hard and give up. If we're like the bird we make it into the hose. Sometimes we go off on different story paths or find dead ends, leaving us trapped in unfamiliar places like the dreaded laundry room. Then there are those of us who have worked hard, built our nest, done our editing and we get stuck at the submission phase. Maybe it's a problem with a query, or synopsis, or endless rejections. We can see the publishing world through the window, but don't quite know how to get there.

Sometimes we need help from someone like a critique group, sometimes we have to try something new, and sometimes we need to find a new window until we find the right agent or publisher.

Good luck on your journey through the dryer hose. (Oh, you might be wondering the fate of the poor bird. My DH opened the window and let it out.)