When I first started writing, I had no idea what a Critique Partner was, or that there were writer forumns online, and workshops, and all manner of learning tools out there. Then again, I started writing 10 years ago, and online wasn;t as populated as it is today…anyway…what I’m getting at is this. WHen I started writing, I wrote, to the best of my ability, and I submitted. The only people who saw my work was me, and the editor I submitted to.
I did take a correspondence writing course, and had a mentor who was supposed to go over my work before I submitted it, but, well, like I said, online wasn’t as populated then as it is now, and the correspondence was snail mail, not e-mail. Combine that with my impatient nature and I never waited to hear back from my mentor before submitting my work. Needless to say I never finished the course either.
Because I started out like that, and because of my own personality quirks, I always wrote fast and furious, and totally by the seat of my pants. I never gave much thought to book planning, let alone career planning.
Times have changed.
Now, I look at trends, keep up with industry news, and think harder about what each story/release means on my career path. Some are certainly just for fun, but others are written with more in mind. I’m still not a plotter, but I’m no longer strictly by the seat of my pants. I’ve changed, my process has changed, and my writing has changed. And it’s not a bad thing.
So if you’re finding yourself a little lost, or feeling down because you’re doing the same thing you’ve always done, and it’s just not working anymore, think about this. Change = growth. And unless we’re talking about weight gain, growth is a good thing. 
