Mid week Inspiration: “There’s Nothing to fear but fear itself.”
“There’s Nothing to fear but fear itself.”
I never really got that phrase until I was older. Fear is all encompassing. It can make you doubt yourself, take the wind out of your sails, and kill your dreams. Truth is, most of the writers you love got where they are with a lot of hard work, passion, determination and a trail of failure and rejection. They had the strength to keep getting up every time life knocked them down. While original talent is out there, and some do just have an amazing skill, more of them have grit, determination, and a willingness to learn and improve.. I know you’re going “who?” so I’ll give you some examples.
Laurel K. Hamilton, was told more than once she needed to stop writing all together. She was one of the first in her field, before paranormal was hot, and no one knew what to do with her. Thank goodness she didn’t listen or the way wouldn’t have been paved for so many others like, J.R. Ward or Kresley Cole. Sherilynn Kenyon had many personal trials and tribulations to overcome before her writing. She’s been homeless, and even stopped writing for a time when the death of a loved one ,took her will to write. But the muse inside her, and a wonderfully supportive husband made sure that didn’t happen. Can you imagine the world with Dark Hunters? Umm I sure can’t. : Shakes head:
What I’m trying to say is, don’t let fear still your thunder of paralyze you. Put yourself out there, see what happens and keep moving forward. To steal one of my favorite comic verse lines “ Why do we fall? to get back up.”
I’ll admit, before I sent in my first manuscript I was terrified. What If they didn’t’ like it? It wasn’t up to par with the other fantastic authors out there. Maybe my writing would never be that good. My husband, logical man that he was turned to me and said,” What’s the worst they can do? Say no. If you don’t send it in you’ll never know.” Those words freed me. He was right. I sent it in, and got a positive response in under a week.
Had I never put on my big girl panties and pressed send, I wouldn’t be here. You never know what life has planned for you, and you won’t find out if you don’t participate. Show up, give it your best, and you’ll be amazed how far you’ll come. Now I’m not saying the path will be easy. There’s always pain and discomfort with growth. I look back on my first pieces and cringe, I didn’t always do things the right way, and my writing wasn’t as strong or solid as I’d have liked, and if I could go back now I’d change everything. You know what, that means I’ve grown, and that’s a good thing.
If you’re trying to make your manuscript perfect you’ll never submit it. There will always be “something” that you could tweak, a passage that doesn’t seem quite right, etc. Note, that I said “perfect” ,not well written , sound or filled with emotions. My advice, make it the very best you can. Polish it, love it , nature it, and send it off. Just like a parent with a child we have to let them go, and pray we’ve instilled everything it’ll need to succeed on its own. At the core my writing goal is this. To make each story I put out there better than the last, learn from my past mistakes, and keep moving forward. Well, along with properly representing my characters, they’re very opinionated, I’ll have you know.
Wow Chip Coffey whom I love just shared this as I was getting ready to hit send
Thought for the day: I will try not to dwell on things that have happened in the past and I will strive to be strong and brave as the future unfolds.
I hope I’ve given you some food for thought today, and a bit more hope. I challenge to take a step closer to living your dream this week.
