Dreams

I have told very few people that I am writing a book. Of those I have told I am sometimes met with encouraging skeptism and others seem geniunly supportive. But I have decided that none of this matters. I want to write a book. For me being published is a dream that use to seem unobtainable. Now I see it as something that has already happened. I'm very excited for the day when I can say I'm a published author. To me it isn't about the money or fame that could come. It is about me finishing one of my dreams. So to all you skeptics out there: what is your dream? Go get it. The only thing stopping you is yourself.

Persistence

"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence."
Richard DeVos

Getting Distracted

I have been pondering on if it is good to go to all of these writer conventions and workshops. I went to one in April that was Fabulous and taught me so much. Since then I have gotten email after email of writers workshops I could go too. So here is my question. Is there a point where these workshops become a distraction from our writing?

I have found myself thinking "Oh I could go to this workshop and it would help me so much." And then I realize that I'm using it as an excuse not to write. Now please don't think that I'm saying anything bad about workshops. All I'm wondering is, is there a point when they become more of a distraction instead of a help. Just something to think about.

Being a Rembrandt

When I was taking an Art History class on Rembrandt and Rubens the teacher told us a story about Rembrandt and how he would sneak into the Sisteen Chapel and sketch Michelangelo's work. And then he would tweak it just enough and call it his own. Michelangelo got so angry he actually had the chapel locked and set up camp inside.

I always found this story profound, because we all do it. We read something or see something and think "Oh what a great idea!" Then we take it tweak it just enough and wallah it becomes our own. I can see why inventors are so protective of their ideas. They don't want them stolen. So this is my challenge. I challenge you to come up with one idea that is your very own.