The Bridal Pat

In attempt to heighten my savior faire (yep I'm whipping out the French today) of the publishing world, I've discovered literary blogs. After comfortably treading water at the beginning, I think I'm now swimming in the deep end and realize just how much advice there is to find. Ca alors!

Everything you can imagine starting with the basics of writing a solid query letter to accepting zero control over your book cover...not to worry apparently the majority of them turn out o.k. But those are just two topics out of a bazillion. I think my Achilles' heel is my inclination to try and read all of it - information overload! And that's when one of my life experiences brought me to an important realization. Sometimes it's important to put it all aside and find my bridal pat.

Walk down memory lane with me...

The thick satin dress trimmed with lace draped the bride-to-be's body. A strapless creation meant to indulge the eyes of its onlookers and magnify the beauty of bride who wore it. The dress was beautiful no doubt, but for Abby it had no more appeal than the 10 other dresses she'd tried on earlier. This is more stressful than finding the groom!

Abby shuffled out to her adoring friends and mother. Everyone with comments and opinions of their own. "That one accentuates your waist", "I like the fabric", "it's too poofy in the back", "could the train be longer", and so forth. All offering equally qualified and helpful input but no less not without some personal bias.

It was December. Time was ticking to get a dress ordered, fitted, refitted and pressed before nuptial day deadlines. What's a girl suppose to do when the necessary white attire all starts to look the same? Abby had narrowed it down to a multi toned dress but the bridal pat - the instinctual hand gesture designating "this is the dress" - had yet to appear.

For Abby it was all a matter of clearing out the hodgepodge of well intentioned input from family and friends and go it alone. The evening air held a stimulating chill as she walked into the bridal salon. Abby called earlier to make sure her bridal associate would be there to help her. A brand new shipment of designs had just come in, and Abby was going to be one of the first to slip into some of them. Paroozing through the isles of tall racks, lined with any style, cut, color and fabric you can imagine, five dresses were pulled for consideration.

The first dress was a soft ivory taffeta with a pick-up ball gown and a sweep drain. Simple touches of pearl beading adorned the dress, and it swooshed ever so lightly as she walked. A look perfectly in tune for a summer wedding. With the voices gone and only the quiet approval filling Abby's mind, she looked down and found her hands gently patting the dress. There it was- the bridal pat - she'd found the dress!

Yes this was a true account of my wedding dress hunt. And what did I learn from it? I learned that no matter how much advice I get, good, bad, or mediocre, sometimes it's best to wipe it all away and see what answers are found in the still, quiet moments. Finding your bridal pat or in writing finding that literary nod is essential.

It's all a matter of taste and experience when it comes down to picking out a bridal dress and writing a book. Some people will love it and other's might abhor it. Advice, opinions and input will come from every direction you can imagine, and that's even before you show it to people. But if your satisfied then go with it. Yes there's probably lots of room for further improvement, I will rightfully own to my novice status, but make sure the improvement has your flare.

As for me, when I feel my voice is losing potency amidst all the input, I'll happily withdraw to a place where the stories in my head can once again be put to paper, and I can luxuriate in the satisfaction of my own literary nod.