The Six Million Dollar Raid

I don't play some of the most popular games on Facebook, but I have a few I really enjoy.  Two of them involve raising pet dragons; you can find them here and here. The premise behind both of them is simple: you raise a dragon from an egg, deciding when it should grow, how it should train, and send it to attack other dragons for gold and assist your friends. Tuesday night I was looking for someone to raid and came across a dragon two wealth classes above me. The dragon was bigger than mine, so I wasn't sure I would win, but I tried it anyway, figuring it wouldn't hurt. When I woke up Wednesday morning, I found my dragon had brought home over six million units of treasure, earning me an achievement and sending me up to the next wealth class. I tried something similar with my other dragon, sending her to raid a dragon 1.5 times her size. It was a long battle, but in the end I emerged triumphant, though my take-home prize wasn't quite so big.

I'm telling you these stories not to brag or to entice you into trying out the Pet Dragon games, but to make a point about writing: sometimes you have to take risks to succeed. That can mean anything from trying something new with your writing to submitting to your dream agents/editors first instead of someplace that seems safer. Sometimes you're going to fail, and you have to accept that as part of the game. But sometimes you can succeed beyond your expectations.

While I think you can find writing metaphors anywhere you care to look, sometimes it's best not to push them too far. My newly wealthy dragon is under attack by a much bigger dragon, and I'd hate to take that to mean writers have to compete with each other* instead of helping each other along.


*if we do have to fight, remember that though I be little, I be fierce.**


** That's a Shakespeare reference. Anyone recognize the play?