{"id":1531,"date":"2013-11-23T11:39:23","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T19:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2017-11-19T11:08:20","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T19:08:20","slug":"a-life-lesson-from-robert-frost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/uncategorized\/a-life-lesson-from-robert-frost\/","title":{"rendered":"A Life Lesson From Robert Frost"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IMG_1638\"

On the Robert Frost Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

There is something about a walk in the forest to calm my senses. My mind is always whirling with what I\u2019ve written and what I want to write as well as the regular family business, you know, the worries about children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n

On our recent trip through New England, Robert and I came upon the Robert Frost Wayside Trail<\/a> by the town of Middlebury,Vermont. It’s a wonderful walk through the woods that the poet loved, the woods he captured in his poems.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Frost\u2019s poem, The Road Not Taken<\/a> is the one I recall from my childhood. His poem resonates as who amongst us has not thought about the road not taken. Not that the one we’re on is fraught with difficulty, but rather we ask ‘what if we had taken the other road?’ How would our life be different?<\/p>\n

What takes us down one path and not the other? Sometimes, it’s because the other seems too hard, too unfathomable. Or maybe it\u2019s too easy to take the one that we think others want us to take, rather than the one our own spirit is yearning to travel. Or maybe, as in Frost’s poem, they both look roughly the same and we choose blindly, unsure of the outcome.<\/p>\n

For awhile now, I’ve been traveling the path that leads to traditional publishing. Though I’ve had agents in the past for my screenplays, and have one for my acting, an agent for my novel has eluded me, even though several well-known NY agents expressed some interest. But in the end, my story wasn\u2019t one they wanted to champion, even though I\u2019ve been told it\u2019s intriguing and written well. It\u2019s just not their cup of tea.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s discouraging to get rejections but I know I\u2019m not alone as most established authors have experienced rejections in their writing journey. It\u2019s the nature of the business.<\/p>\n

\"Robert

Beaver Pond on Robert Frost Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

And so, I’ve decided to take the other road, and self-publish my novel in the fall of 2014 (so exciting). I am encouraged in this as many authors have blazed this trail ahead of me. At this time, I don’t expect it to be a better road. There are pros and cons for both. It’s just a different road with its own rewards.<\/p>\n

How about you? Are there paths out there you haven’t taken? To go out on one’s own is daunting. Are you thinking of trying a new direction? Whether it\u2019s a move to an exotic land, a gamble in business, writing about something forbidden, we all have those impulses. But fear of judgment, fear of failure, fear of the unknown keeps us locked in the same pattern, afraid to take a step on the road not taken.<\/p>\n

My inner voice tells me it’s time to try the other path. What is your inner voice telling you? I\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is something about a walk in the forest to calm my senses. My mind is always whirling with what I\u2019ve written and what I want to write as well… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,1,4],"tags":[141,25,78,9,568,451,566,570,569,567,5],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-uncategorized","category-writing","tag-agent","tag-author","tag-diana-stevan","tag-novel","tag-poems","tag-poet","tag-robert-frost","tag-robert-frost-wayside-trail","tag-self-publish","tag-the-road-not-taken","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-oH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4651,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/writing\/lifes-unexpected-surprises\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":0},"title":"Life’s Unexpected Surprises","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"7 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year was full of wonderful writing experiences and great trips, but this year, we were hit with life's unexpected surprises. Crummy ones. Since Robert and I have been so blessed in life, it\u2019s hard to complain. And yet, since New Year\u2019s Eve, there have been a few dark moments.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"life's unexpected surprises","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":152,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/adapting-for-the-screen\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":1},"title":"Adapting for the screen","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"27 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd mentioned earlier that I rarely like an adaption of a book for the screen. The exception is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The film, although different from the book in a number of details, is brilliant. It's faithful to the story and beautifully cast and\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":645,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/taking-a-break-to-de-clutter-the-mind\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":2},"title":"Taking A Break To De-clutter The Mind","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"19 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I\u2019ve been up to my eyeballs trying to figure out the next steps in my writing life \u2014and getting confused as to which direction to take\u2014I took a break and went for a hike. What always boggles my mind is how refreshed I feel after a walk in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/P1100314-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2715,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/film-2\/remembering-robert-hall\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":3},"title":"Remembering Robert Hall","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"14 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday,\u00a0 I learned that Robert Hall was executed by a terrorist group in the Phillipines. They represent an evil I do not understand. They killed l a decent man whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I first met Robert Hall, when he was\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"robert hall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/robert-hall.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4978,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/writing\/musing-about-the-pandemic\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":4},"title":"Musing About the Pandemic","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"15 \u0413\u0440\u0443\u0434\u043d\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm ending the year musing about the pandemic; it's at the forefront of my mind. Before the Covid19 pandemic, life was normal, with its ups and downs, and the freedom we took for granted. At the start of 2020, Robert and I went with friends to Ucluelet on the west\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Writing and Publishing","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ucluelet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ucluelet.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Ucluelet.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1231,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/how-we-are-human\/","url_meta":{"origin":1531,"position":5},"title":"HOW WE ARE HUMAN","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"9 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"What better way to start a new year than by reviewing HOW WE ARE HUMAN, a book of poems by Luke Maguire Armstrong.\u00a0 It found its way to my desk by chance. And I\u2019m thankful it did. It's what I love best about social media; it's the happenstance, the meeting\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"How We Are Human Cover (2)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/How-We-Are-Human-Cover-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}