Keeping It Together

Letter to - Afraid Of Using The Pen

Dear Afraid of using the Pen,

Imagine, if you will, first of all, that at the end you your life you have multiple books published and are making a living very comfortably from your writing. Your family all loves you and your lifestyle and you are happy and healthy.

Wouldn't you want to know how you got there? How many pens you used up and how many reams of paper you tore up to get there.

Talent grows with practice. Not only practice in actual writing but in thinking and feeling. Practice in reading good and not so good books so you can learn what not to do as well as what to do.

Have a mentor to share and encourage and give practical honest actual constructive criticism. Criticism you can learn from and grow with.

Write about your dreams at night while you were sleeping. Write about your daily activities and your thoughts and dreams (usually called blogs) they can be rehashed later into something that you can edit and use.

Is it selfish to write? If it gives you enjoyment then you will be a better person therefore a better friend and mother but these things need to be considered in balance. Allot time for each but as a writer more time will be allotted for that and other hobbies like drinking at the pub will have to go not the family needs.

The pursuit of selfish desire to write is no different then the pursuit of other people’s desires. Be it athletics, outing, pubbing, nightclubbing. Getting wasted any other way that may or may not be legal.

Writing as a hobby is not a terribly expensive hobby and may even be quite lucrative - eventually.

Be careful whom you share your writing with. Not everybody realizes the passion and time that goes into making something that you love and can minimize your treasure, your heart and sole, etc.

But most of all write with passion, write with humour. Believe in what you write.

If you love what you write it doesn't matter what others think of it. You won't keep everyone happy. You may as well love what you are doing. And do it with love.

Share you passion with others who do understand like at WDC. Join a club like WDC. Share your writing with friends like at WDC.

And most of all write with your sole, with all your heart, allow your greater self to guide you, your muse can amuse you and others with your writing.

Wash your fears away each day when you sleep. Have a day or two off from writing, it will give you perspective and refresh your direction.

~~ ~~ ~~

It was at this point that she called stop.

My daughter, Rebecca, challenged me to a writing race.

Ready, set, go. It felt like a 15-minute chase to the end.

It was a WDC speed writing game. Well that was what it felt like.

But, while knowing what I wanted to say/type, my fingers got all tangled up and I spent as much time on me ‘Backspace’ as I did on any other letter on the keyboard.

And then there was the dilemma. Do I worry about spelling it write (;)), do I worry about grammar or punctuation, But the chase was already on, so I just went for broke, correcting spelling where I noticed it and leaving it when I didn’t.

She even had the audacity to interrupt me with messages of ‘time to go’, (bet she was using that as a distracting ploy).

The topic was:

From "Pen on Fire" by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett:

Imagine a friend has come to you for help. She dreams of becoming a writer but is burdened by fears. She worries she has no talent and has nothing to say. Perhaps she worries she's taking precious time away from her family to pursue her selfish desire to write.

For Fifteen minutes, write to that friend and give her hope. Dispel each of her fears, one by one, so that when she is through talking with you and revealing her heart, she will be willing to try giving the writing life her best effort. Your words need to inspire her and help her through this difficult time.

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After reading the other entry items, I considered myself the winner, since I kept to the topic and theme, as well as answering the question specifically.

Time to find another comp and get ready to give myself another pat on the back. Well, if I don’t, who will? Cheers

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