Breakthrough

Yesterday I read an article by Jeff Goins offering an open thread for people to comment on their “big break.” As I prepared my response, I thought I might share it on ARHtistic License and Medium as well.

I’m still waiting for my big writing breakthrough. I’m trusting that if I put in the work, success will ultimately come.

I’ve had some little breakthroughs along the way. I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education, and I had an elementary general music job right out of college (1974). I taught for four years, got pregnant, took maternity leave, and never went back.

The master plan was two kids, and when the younger was in first grade, I’d go back to teaching.

But the Master had a different Plan.

We had five kids. I was very content to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. Besides, the little ones’ nap times gave me minutes of writing time. And when the littlest was in preschool, I joined a critique group. I had several freelance articles published in the 1990s, but I longed to write novels. I started several, and one even “went to committee,” but none were published. I kept working on the novel I believe I was born to write.

Soon it was clear that my husband’s teaching job was not enough to support our family. I took some temp jobs, then a part-time government gig. In 2004 I was able to go to the Maui Writer’s Conference, and met with two agents, both of whom wanted to read my manuscript. But it wasn’t finished. A few months later I quit my job so I could concentrate on finishing my book. Unfortunately, both agents passed on it. (It really wasn’t ready.)

So I ended up taking on a string of part-time jobs again. They were so stressful, I thought I may as well use my degrees and go back to teaching, after twenty-seven years out of the classroom.

I was able to get a job mid-year as a replacement for someone who had resigned. The job was not easy. At the end of the year, they advertised the job and hired someone else. I was heartbroken. The school secretary told me a nearby district had several music openings. I applied and was hired.

That turned out to be a breakthrough for me. From the moment I stepped on that campus, I felt like I had come home. The staff at that school had a collaborative spirit, and loved their students. The principal was an advocate for students and teachers. The morale was high. I loved my job.

Every teacher was expected to maintain a page on the school website. This was where a parent could go to see what was happening in the classroom. Also, every teacher took on “voluntary” extra projects for the school. For three years, I ran the Yearbook Club, and with a group of fifth and sixth grade students, put together our yearbooks.

Then, the climate changed. The state legislature became very anti-education. Teachers were criticized by people who hadn’t been in a classroom since their own student days. Our principal was assigned to a different school, and the one who took his place decided to shake things up. He broke up teams that worked together successfully for years. Morale plummeted. In the next few years, half the staff left, either transferring or resigning. I was one of the teachers who left.

I looked for an office job, but I was now in my sixties. I was on the short list several times, but younger candidates got hired. I drifted back to my critique group and started writing again.

But you know what? Those years teaching were not wasted. My critique group decided to start a group blog, and my experience with my school blog page and my design work for the yearbook both gave me enough confidence that I started my own blog in 2015 (another small breakthrough). Since then, I’ve posted almost every day.

I’m still working on several book projects, none of which is near completion. My main job right now is full-time caretaker for my disabled husband. I don’t have enough uninterrupted time to get into that all-important flow state. That’s the season I’m in. But I trust that if I keep working the best I can, there will be a real breakthrough in my future.

Originally published at http://arhtisticlicense.com on March 12, 2024.