20
Are You Losing Faith in Your Writing Dream?
Many people dreamed of becoming writers when they were younger. They spent teenage years crafting short stories, building fantasy worlds or reading cereal boxes while eating breakfast. Words were part of their lives. They voraciously read every book they could get their hands on, spent hours walking through bookstores and filled shelves with beloved novels.
Then they grew up. They finished their schooling, got jobs somewhere, and set aside their childhood dreams of becoming a writer. Their love for writing never really went away, but its importance faded, set aside because of other adult priorities, like schooling, work and family.
Dreams never die, though. They may fade over time or change and become something even better, but they always stay a part of us, niggling at us deep inside. They want out – if we’ll let them.
What’s In Pandora’s Box?
Today, many people realize they can pursue their dreams of becoming a writer, and that tends to happen when they begin exploring the online world. They discover that being a writer is feasible – nay, easy, even! Websites tell them so.
It’s Pandora’s box – and they open it.
These new writers start dabbling. They begin pursuing the dream of writing as a career. Some seize the opportunity and throw themselves into it with a passion. Fantastic, I say. Go for it. Embrace it and love it.
But then something happens. One disappointment occurs, and then another. A critical client. Not enough work. Too many revisions. Low paying jobs. Costly lessons that only result in sinking self-confidence and increasing self-doubts.
These writers lose heart, and they start to think they should give up. The dream tarnishes.
What This Place Needs Is A Hero
The best stories, the best movies, the best songs… They all involve vanquishing huge odds and achieving victory. The poor, downtrodden hero finally – finally! – gets the girl, destroys the demon or reaches his goals.
Well, writing for a living is like that. There are odds stacked against you, and there are obstacles in your way. There are challenges that you’ll have to face and demons to overcome. Most of them are right inside you. They’re the whispers that take up residence, the ones that tell you to give up.
Think about all your favorite heroes and the struggles they lived through that made their story so great. What good is a movie that’s over within minutes or a book that ends at page two, all because the hero got whatever he wanted without even trying?
Heroes work hard to reach their goals, and you’ll have to work hard, too. Heroes find a way around their obstacles, and you’ll need to find your solution, too. Heroes face their challenges and take a stand against their inner demons.
You’re going to need to do that, too – and you can. This is your life. You’re crafting your own script, living your own story – and your fantastic, victorious moment of glory is waiting for you. All you have to do is write what comes next.
What about you? Do you feel like you’re just not cut out to reach your dreams? What discourages you from pursuing them? What’s holding you back? Is it… yourself?
Help spread the word!
Welcome to our community. Kick back, put your feet up and join the discussion.
56 Responses - Leave your comments too!
Go ahead. Leave a Comment!
-
-
-
James is reading:
-
-
Taylor is reading:
-
-
Social Hookups
-
Oh yes. Dreams, especially the good dreams, take a heck of a lot of work to achieve. But that’s the great thing about dreams – the really great ones are entirely worth the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to get there.
Am I holding myself back from reaching my dreams? Yeah, that’s a big part of it… and of course I’m working to get past that. But there are other smaller, but just as important things that could be holding someone back as well. Perhaps a loved one is keeping you from the dream (not always on purpose – how many people just can’t in any way do something, because they have kids, or a sick family member, or something/someone else who comes before your dreams?)
And then there’s always the issue of time… there are never enough hours in a day. But then again, that’s just an excuse, isn’t it? If the dream’s important enough, there’s always some way to make the time for it. (Yes James, I just kicked myself in the rear so you don’t have to.
)
Allison Day´s last blog post…Banana Cream Pie
Good post – and not just applicable to writing but to any dream.
I went to a conference this week and one of the female entrepreneurs described the efforst we put into our dreams and even our life like vibrations. The more effort and good vibrations we put out there, the more will come back like and echoe – but what most people don’t realise is it takes time to get those good vibrations back.
From my experience I can be plugging away for weeks and feel as though nothing is coming back, doubt begins to creep in but I know I can’t give up and just when I am about to go crazy those little ripples of good vibrations start to come back.
Keep going – and keep believing.
Amy.
Amy Harrison´s last blog post…“Don’t Try, Can’t Failâ€â€¦But Nor Will You Succeed
James,
That was lovely. I wrote tons when I was younger and you sucked me right in to the story with that opening. I can imagine the pain for a person who wants to make their living through writing (and I have my own pains, for sure) but I am lucky in a way. My blog has allowed the girl who wrote and wrote and wrote to finally be a writer.
Not to step on professional writers’ toes—because I’m not trying to get my daily bread from it, it’s not the same thing, I know. Just wanted to say that if it’s the fulfillment of writing you’re looking for, the online world does have the ability to help with that dream. It just takes persistence.
I loved the butt-kicking and I shall go be the hero of my own story in my own field. Thanks!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog post…WIN a Prize & Wish MCE a Happy 300th
Very inspiring. If something comes too easily, it’s too easy to take it for granted. You have to work and claw and fight your way to the goals that truly matter … except when you get distracted or lazy or discouraged, and then posts like these are just what you need!
–Deb´s last blog post…Irony
James,
Ahh yes. A man after my own heart.
I see a lot of comments over at Tumblemoose that tell me a great deal of folks struggle with this. The topic is one I keep in the back of my mind as I wrote most of my posts.
There are so many things that keep folks from moving forward in their dream to be a writer. Fear of ridicule and success, feelings of too much competition, thoughts of not being perfect enough to write, thinking that no one is interested in what I might have to say.
All of these things and more keep folks down.
My best advice is “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!” Just go ahead and write. Take those first few tentative steps and you will see that you CAN write, there is room for you and people will be interested in what you have to say.
Nothing quite beats the rush of finishing up a great article, or getting positive feedback for something you’ve written or by getting the Holy Grail of writing – seeing your name in print in a paper product.
Great post, Mr. James.
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post…Why aren’t you using OpenOffice?
Rejection can be a deterrent, but it seems most people don’t even get to that point. More often we start looking at everyone else and thinking we should write/paint/sing like them; we start rating and ranking, but rank ourselves somewhere near the bottom of the list.
Terry Heath´s last blog post…A Rant About Actually Being Qualified To Do Stuff
I’m lucky. I never imagined being a writer until recently. I started writing children’s stories for my own kids and the wee ones I taught. After amassing about twenty stories I decided to shop them around. Then I was told by an agent that my “language is too rich for children.” About a month later I started my blog. This particular dream is young and going well, but if it stalls, I’ll have no one to blame but myself. There may be contributors, but no one is the author other than me.
Writer Dad´s last blog post…An Ode to My Daughter
Darn you James! I have tears in my eyes. I hate that! Makes me feel like a wimpy girl! Lately, I have felt like a huge failure, I needed these words, thank you. Really, thank you.
Karen Swim´s last blog post…It’s All About You
This is great. Writing on the Internet can be intimidating and disheartening, and that is if people are even reading your stuff. I hope beginning writers – amateur writers, if there is such a thing – know that it does not matter where you are in the writing path, there is always room to improve. Don’t quit. Your greatest writing could come tomorrow, or 20 years from now, but you have to work on it everyday until then. It will be worth it.
Zane´s last blog post…
Thoughtful post! Sometimes I think I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to finding success as a freelancer. Tired of rejections from editors and low-paying online gigs, I started blogging for fun to help keep my sanity in check. What I should do, though, is keep pressing on to find freelancing work and to grow as a writer. Some dreams will never die, I guess. But maybe that’s my problem: thinking of writing for pay as a dream instead of as a goal.
Stacy´s last blog post…Breyers Fat Free Ice Cream Review
Thank you James, your posts are always so inspirational. I have always wanted to write but never really took the time. Now I get to write as much as I want because of blogging. It is absolutely great. You can start publishing for free with a blogger blog or a wordpress.org blog. It takes about 5 minutes to get started and then you can spend time practicing the craft and maybe build an audience.
The thing that I think is so amazing about the web is the number of people involved. There are over a billion people with web access now. It has become feasible to publish on the most obscure subjects and still find other people who are interested in what you have to say.
A person can build a following writing about almost anything under the sun. If you want to write then try a free blog and start putting words to screen. You know the old saying, the way to become a writer is to write. Pick a subject that interests you and start blogging. You may be amazed at the results.
Andy@zero carb foods´s last blog post…No Carb Starches
A writer who lost his heart is not longer a writer, James. To me, as a writer, it’s nothing more important to write right from their heart…
@ Andy – “You may be amazed at the results…” That right there sums up a feeling I have at least 40 times a week. Never in my wildest dreams – and all because I dared to write.
@ Stacy – I prefer not to call it rejection (in fact, I don’t think any of my posts use that word). Rejection implies our very selves being discarded, pushed away and refused.
No sir. Writing is way too subjective for any of us to feel WE have been rejected. The work we did simply wasn’t the person’s subjective preference, that’s all.
@ Zane – Maybe your greatest work is that you wrote for your whole life despite all odds, fears and obstacles.
@ Karen – You, my good friend, are very welcome. And very brilliant. You’ll want to come back for Monday’s post, too.
@ Writer Dad – You dared to dream, dared to hope, and dare to persevere. That right there makes you a hero. Rock on, bro.
@ Terry – One piece of personal advice I’ll share is my own philosophy of, “There is no competition.” There is you, and what you choose to do to achieve your dreams.
@ Tumblemoose – You’re right. Creative types are plagued by fears. Live them, learn from them, and rise above them.
@ Deb – Studies show that people who have to go through huge personal challenges to reach a goal enjoy heightened satisfaction than if they simply had a small task to perform that would let them reach the same goal. Hazings, for example, or tribal rituals. The more obstacles we overcome, the more personal satisfaction and victory we feel.
We *own* the moment. Because we made it through. I’m all for that.
@ Kelly – *wipes off shoe scuff* You read cereal boxes too?
@ Amy – Well, the theory lies more in the principles that if you have the confidence to put forth, you’ll feel heightened confidence to cope with what occurs, and through that confidence, you’ll realize greater opportunities.
Call it what you want, it’s all good stuff regardless.
@ Sushi – I’ll kick your butt anyways, because no one – not kids, not family, not friends, not time, not obligations, not work, not NOTHING – can hold you back from your dreams unless you let them.
I’ve never dreamed to be a writer.
But I do enjoy it quite a bit. I love the craft and creation of it. And am adamant about continuing to get better at it.
All that being said… I still want my blog to become extremely popular. And… if I have something to say down the road – would love to try writing a book.
Bamboo Forest – PunIntended´s last blog post…The Art of Artery Clogging: A Recipe
This reminds me of some wisdom just recently handed down to me from Alex of Someday Syndrome. He was talking about fear being a big reason that people procrastinate, and how these fears are often based on falling short of the perfect future we’ve created in our heads.
We dream so long and hard that our imaginations have filled in every little detail of what our dreams can look like, that it becomes boot-shakingly intimidating to make any attempt at making them come true. How can reality possibly measure up to the perfection we’ve imagined it to be?
Then, of course, after causing me to throw up my hands in despair, the crafty man followed it up with some very good questions that still have me percolating.
What’s the worst that could happen, right?? As the saying goes, better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all.
Nicole Brunet´s last blog post…A Place in My Mind
I remember once, long long ago, back when a pyramid scheme was something in which ancient Egyptians specialized, I was sitting on a bus filled with AT&T folk. We were on our way to a white wawa wafting adventure, and there were 2 guys in their 50s sitting behind me (this was 18 or so years ago).
One told the other, you know….I had this great idea for a business but never ever found the time to really make it happen. And of course now, it’s just ‘way too late.
I never forgot that exchange….and remember thinking, if there’s one thing I’ll teach my kids, it will be – always go for your dreams!
After all, only you can make them come true.
Data points, Barbara
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog post…Want Gratitutious Amounts of Energy? Enter Warcraft and Lion King and …. PowerThirst!
James – True, I suppose. It’s just so much harder to justify all the hard work that goes into the dream, when someone you love dearly won’t be happy with you, and may even be extremely displeased with you if you pursue/achieve said dream.
I will argue, however, that sometimes you’re forced to choose between two dreams… if you want one, then there’s no way you can have the other.
Allison Day´s last blog post…Banana Cream Pie
Well, I didn’t say I rated and ranked. I used the more highfalutin-sounding “we.”
Wow. The spellchecker actually had “highfalutin” in it. I’m impressed
Terry Heath´s last blog post…On Being Lord High Everything Else
@ Bamboo – Maybe not a writer… but you have dreams, right?
@ Nicole –
I must be broken. I dream so long and hard and fill in all the details, then I strive to reach that dream with all my heart and soul. I was never indimidated by my dreams – I long for them. And I never really understood how people insisted that reaching this couldn’t be possible. “It’s a fantasy world. You can’t have that.”
I never understood that. And it always made me a little sad and confused. I’m rather glad that I still don’t pay attention, I still don’t listen, and I’m still working on making that dream come true.
@ Allison – Sometimes, you may feel you have to choose between dreams, but I’ll argue that there’s only one dream that’s perfectly right.
@ Barbara – I remember once making fun of a garbage man behind a truck. My mother reprimanded me, and I said, “But he’s just a garbage man!” She said, “How do you know that being a garbage man wasn’t his dream? How dare you laugh at someone when you have no idea whether that person has reached pure happiness.”
Never, ever did it again. So yeah, I hear you on teaching kids.
@ Terry – Depanneur!!!
Dammit. Spell-check says it’s wrong. I’m jealous.
James – But that’s so limiting – it’s like saying there’s only one true soul mate in the world for you, and without them you can never truly be happy.
I’d say both dreams could be perfectly right in their own ways, and if the opposing dream weren’t getting in the way, each by themselves *would* be perfectly right. That’s why they’re such wonderful dreams, that you’d be willing to put in the work to achieve either. But of course, you can’t always have it all.
Allison Day´s last blog post…Banana Cream Pie
@ Allison – Ah, no, you misconstrued my words to serve your purposes
I see it this way:
If your dream is to have a partner AND to achieve XYZ, it’s not a choice between XYZ and your partner. It’s just not the right XYZ or the right partner to achieve the dream of having it all.
(Of course, it’s Shiraz hour over here – *every*thing looks possible with Shiraz.)
James – Hm. I still don’t entirely agree, but you’ve given me a lot to think about.
Allison Day´s last blog post…Banana Cream Pie
@James – You’re not at all broken, silly. You’re where we all strive to be. Count yourself as fortunate (or very, very damned stubborn) that you DON’T understand it.
…then come over here and teach me.
Nicole Brunet´s last blog post…A Place in My Mind
James, do you have any idea how truly blessed you were to grow up in a family that encouraged dreams? You’re not broken, you’re how we are all supposed to be!
I’ve been thinking over the comments here all day, and keep going around in circles. Sometimes dreams, be they writing or anything else, are forced to change, be altered or they die. Sometimes when dreams are made to change or become impossible, something else – equally as valuable – is put in it’s place.
Sometimes when we realise we can’t achieve one dream we discover there’s something else there that we want as much and that we can achieve.
Still thinking through this one, and about dreams that have changed, been achieved or disappeared. I don’t think there’s any easy answers that fit everyone.
Melinda´s last blog post…Do You Have Blogger’s Block? Coming up With New Content Continuously
@ Melinda – Um, well, actually… I wouldn’t say that my family was encouraging. But I will say that particular moment was rather enlightening, yes.
And I also think you’re right. There are no easy answers that fit everyone, but I can guarantee there is one thing that every single dream in the world, altered, changed or eventual, might have:
Hope.
I was looking through my feeds and came across your post. OMG !!! Your timing and words were so well timed! Almost brought me to tears…..because its true….we are our own worst enemy.
Thanks James
Edina´s last blog post…Effective Web Content Writing
Always looking around for someone else to blame . . . responsibilities at work, with the kids, husband, whatever. But darnit, it always comes back to me! Thanks for the reminder to keep the dream alive.
Lana´s last blog post…Handy Idea…
As James knows I went through this doubting period a couple of weeks ago, still coming out of it actually.
It can be quite difficult to find that hero within you in which case do as I did; reach out to your heroes. They went through the exact same thing and they are more than willing to help you through.
Reading this post James reminded me of one of my all time favourite stories, from which I quote:
Thanks mate.
@ Marc – Ahh, perfect addition. And you’re very welcome.
Becoming a writer can be a challenge, but the real trick is becoming the writer you want to be.
I’ve been avoiding blogging in this part of the world, although I really do enjoy writing. I have no desire to write professionally, but writing about things is a lovely way to explore how you feel and to make sense of the events that occur around you.
I don’t blog and this is really a form of self censorship and yes I have a tendency to blame the place for something that is a personal failure to act. This is very like the person who blames a family member. It is true writing blogs in Totalitarian societies is a bit of a tightrope walking exercise but they are fascinating places, and ordinary daily life has bizarre and surprising twists, that make fascinating material.
That’s me. I spent 25 years ignoring the writing dream and yet nothing else ever went right. Now I’m following the dream despite a totally shaky financial situation and guess what, all the parts of my life that were sucky are now great – I have a partner I love, great friends, fantastic relationship with my family – all because I decided to stop fucking around and to start pursuing my writing dream.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…The daily Someday battle: Lisa Baldwin interview
Excellent read. I needed this. It’s a mental challenge to pursue your dreams as a writer. The temptation of getting a regular job grows larger and larger when your not at the point where you want to be. Just have to keep the faith.
Omar´s last blog post…Valentine’s Day Art Lounge at Studio 353
Hi James – I was definitely losing faith in my novel writing dream. I’ve thrown heaps of partly written novels in the bin. And the one I’m writing now wasn’t going a whole heap better.
I think it’s definitely a confidence issue. I don’t know what scares me more, finishing the bloody thing and having it rejected 1000 times, or getting it published and having readers and critics tell me it sucks. I also worry about being marketable, because of my age – I’m 40 this year and I know that agents would consider me far more marketable if I was 15 years younger.
What I’ve done to give myself a kick up the butt, is to keep fast forwarding another 20 years and imagine how it would feel if I still hadn’t completed it.
Cath Lawson´s last blog post…Getting & Giving Up: Silva Life System Review Part 5
Heroes and dreams… Thanks for the inspiration. I lost writing faith but have embraced writing faith again.
On heroes, mine are John Walsh, Walt Disney, and Robert Frost;
John Walsh because of his struggle and triumph, Walt Disney for his dreams, and Robert Frost for his inspirational soothing words.
Michelle Kafka´s last blog post…What Key Factors Can Inventors Teach Freelancers?
Michelle, another Robert Frost fan! My favouritest poet, I love his work.
Melinda´s last blog post…Business Practices that Make you Look Bad
When I read the line about reading cereal boxes at breakfast, I had to laugh. I thought I was the only one who did that! Thanks for a timely reminder on the reality of not losing faith!
Wendy Velazquez´s last blog post…The Rose Colored Pen
What writers have to learn is opinions are highly subjective. Remember the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” It holds true. Rejection is going to happen, but it’s what you do after the fact that matters most. Do you get back up, or just lie there defeated? I have a new book set to publish in May and the only reason this came to pass is because I know that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I had an agent tell me that they loved the idea but didn’t feel they could convince a publisher that I had a large enough audience. The book is about growing successful online communities, and this agent didn’t feel that was broad enough. Anyway, I kept looking and ultimately went directly to a publisher. So, look for my book “18 rules of Community Engagement” and remember my story. When someone says no, thank them and move on to the next prospect. Writing dreams die because we let them.
Angela Connor´s last blog post…Communicate like the whole world is watching
Thank you for this encouragement. I try to be my own cheerleader, telling myself that I can achieve the writing life that I dream of. I say my biggest disappointment will be not having tried. But there are days, there are many days, when reality looks me in the eye, and I have to admit even to the optimist in me that words are not flowing freely, that I don’t have the pick of high-paying and interesting jobs, and that I don’t really know if I can achieve the dream.
So thank you. It seems that you wrote the post just for me. Come to that, we have never met, have we?
Maricar´s last blog post…Balding Mole Rats Reveal Their Long Life Secrets
I really enjoyed reading this, and everyone’s comments. I’ve always wanted to write (and I guess I always have in one way or another), but after I recently attended a writer’s conference, I came back feeling very disillusioned. With agents and publishers and platforms- it’s overwhelming to keep trying against all the odds.
Afterwards, I had a good heart to heart with myself and asked why I was doing this. Great question. I realized I was disappointed because I had wanted to make a living by writing. But the biggest part of me didn’t care at all if I was published by a big name, or made a lot of money from it. I realized I still HAD to write, and that revelation broke through the fear and disillusionment.
Maybe I’m a secret optimist, because I believe in following your dreams. Even as cheesy as it sounds.
Michelle´s last blog post…A Good Self-Talk
Man, I sure lost faith in my writing dream, big time. For about two years. I’d justify it with my sad story — after a bestseller and four critical hits, my publisher threw me under the bus. Then my agent sacked me for inactivity. Then I wrote two new books and they didn’t sell. Then I went on Elance and worked for about four bucks an hour (Elance has gone downhill since then). My pitty pot is just about full, and so if my wife. Full of my crap.
But if you’re a real writer, and the dream begins to slip away, then you begin to die with it. No matter how south your road is heading, there is always an alternative strategy that can inspire you. Change genres, change categories, try poetry, write erotica, write for your church, write love letters, just WRITE SOMETHING. If the dream was real, then it was always about the love of executing the craft — or it should have been; a dream about fame and fortune is a fool’s dream if it doesn’t spring from a love of writing itself — and the so-called dream gets warped into fantasies of where the craft could lead you.
We only have control over one thing in this arena, and that’s our work. We can’t control editors and agents, we can’t control what readers think, we can only control what they read. And that’s the real avocation of writing — connecting with readers, no matter what field or genre or delivery-mechanism you’re writing in. And readers are never guaranteed. Which means, at the end of the day, you have to write for yourself first.
As for me, I’m suddenly alive again because I’ve discovered blogging. Not just to make myself feel better — though it does — but to help other writers. As a writing instructor as well as a practicing hack, I’ve turned my focus outward instead of to the mirror (the one with a reflection of that pity pot in the background), and suddenly the dream has a whole new dimension. I’ve started a site for writers to come for hard-core information, instruction and hope, with no writing seminar B.S. and puffery. Just the truth.
That’s the dichotomy of the dream. Write to please yourself. And then, write to serve others, even if it’s just entertainment on the plate.
It feels good to be a writer again, here among writers, living the dream.
@ Larry – I think writers are prone to a love-hate affair with their work at all times, no matter what. I believe we all hit slumps and lows and think we suck and then ride huge highs and love writing for everything it brings.
The trick is to find what sparks your passion back up and gets that fire roaring. Like I said in the other post, I’m glad to see you around.
Thanks James, good to be here. Think I’ll stick around. Feels like a class act.
Wow, thanks I have to say that I will keep this page in my favs. I am an aspiring writer.. or I should say a beginer. I’m not published .. heck I’ve never even written a decent short stroy.. or at least one that has been published anywhere on any blog. Knowing that you want something isn’t the same as going out there and getting it…and for the first time in my life I am willing to go through hell (if need be) to get it, but I know I’ll waver along the way and again I thank you for giving me a place to go to refresh my will…my determination. Everyone needs help sometimes thank you for yours.
Just posted this.
It’s totally on point with this thread. Hope it helps.
Title: Find Something to Die For. And Then Live For It.
Had a killer post planned for today. All outlined in my head. Woke up early to get ‘er done. And then I went out to fetch the paper and everything changed.
Life is like that sometimes.
It wasn’t a headline that rocked me this morning. It was a quote inserted above the headline that read, “I feel it draws on everything I’ve ever been or done or learned. In this role, I get to draw on everything that I am.†Below the headline, which isn’t relevant here, was a picture of man speaking into a microphone, with a solemn look on his face, as if he was telling his children about life.
And I thought, what a lucky man indeed.
Maybe it’s because I’m old, but this hit me like a ton of rejection slips. Because that’s how I feel about writing. Some days I hate it, but most days it makes me feel alive in a way that nothing else — avocation-wise… my wife and son always remind me that I’m very much alive — can. It makes me remember the dark days of the past few years during which I felt I had nothing to write for. A feeling that is a close second to nothing to live for in terms of weight on the soul.
And so I’m back at it. Writing two books about writing. Writing another novel. And writing this blog, which if you’ve been here a while — with the exception of this morning’s post — is really about much more than me. As a blog should be. I tell people this is an instructional writing resource, because — again, with the exception of this morning’s post — I don’t really want to write about me. I want to write about you.
That’s a lesson the years have taught. It’s not about me. Never has been. Wish I’d have figured that out earlier.
But I digress, back to that newspaper quote. Writing doesn’t become that significant a part in your life until you begin to take it seriously, to submit yourself to it and be vulnerable to the reality that it’s always bigger than you are. It demands that you draw on everything you’ve ever been or done or learned. Everything that you are.
And becomes, in doing so, everything you’ve ever dreamed of being.
Which makes us, as writers, very lucky folks indeed.
“Maybe you’re not good enough.”
Maybe it’s not going to happen and you waste your life trying to be great at something that will never happen?”
Maybe..Maybe….
I have heard those voices lately and I’ve just barely begun. My life is a shambles and I feel lost. I keep coming back though and I didn’t know why until last night. At first I thought it was because I was hiding in my own imagination that it was my version of sticking my head in the sand. Then I thought.. and thought.
What am I? Not what species or what race..but what am I? I finally came to that answer. I am a creator of stories, be it drawing a picture of a thing or person I see in my head or writing or just thinking of worlds and the characters that entrance me. …..I will become what I strive to be..because if I don’t then I will always be asking the question.. What am I?