Richard Wiseman has made a career of studying what differentiates lucky people from unlucky ones. Or should that be people who consider themselves lucky vs. those who don’t? It would be interesting, if difficult, to have a neutral observer see if the number of fortunes and misfortunes are actually any different, or whether it’s all about attitude.
Anyway, in his book, “The Luck Factor,” Wiseman identifies some of the differences and I thought it might be interesting to consider how taking on some of the habits of the lucky might apply to writing.
Lucky people are more relaxed and see what is there, rather than trying to find what they see.
This sounds especially important in the fast-changing world of publishing. One useful mental exercise might be to put aside what we know about this field and pretend we’re learning about it for the first time, based on what’s happening today.
Lucky people tend to be more extroverted so they have the more chance encounters and more possibilities of positive developments.
This could translate into attending writing conferences and other events that relate to the various aspects of writing. If you’re really shy, at least these days you can do a fair amount of this online.
Lucky people treat failure as a chance to learn and then move on to other ways of solving the problem.
Boy, do we ever need this one! Rejection is a big part of the career of even a successful writer.
I’ve found two things helpful: always having more than one project on the go, and reframing a rejection as just one incident in a long series of things that happen around a project. It’s not the end of the line.
By the way, this latter point is why I’m reluctant now to get involved in projects where I don’t have the rights. Unless you’re being well paid upfront, doing something like writing a script based on a book to which the producer has the rights is risky. If the producer doesn’t like the script or gets absorbed in another project, you don’t have the right to keep trying to market the script.
Lucky people expect their interactions with others to be lucky and successful.
As many studies have shown, a big factor in whether people like you is whether or not they think you like them. If someone is too guarded and suspicious or negative that can keep others away. Fewer interactions = fewer opportunities for good luck (at this stage the pessimist may be saying, “and fewer opportunities for disappointment”…)
OR, AS YOUR GRANDMA PROBABLY PUT IT…
I suppose a lot of this boils down the old sayings*, “The harder I work, the luckier I get,” and “You see what you expect to see.” If you consider yourself unlucky it could be useful to check whether you fit the descriptions above—and what you might do about it if you don’t. Who knows—that could be your lucky day.
(Another lucky day is when you get your copy of "Your Writing Coach." It doesn't even require luck, just an order placed with Amazon or your other favorite book sellers.)
