A Letter From My Best Friend...Me

January 5, 2008

Dear Me,

Happy birthday!

Congratulations Dorie, you have made it to the age when most adults look back over their life’s accomplishments and pat themselves on the back for achieving career goals.

However, you’ve never been content with anything; and your ambitions in life change from year to year…sometimes even day to day.

You wanted to manage people. Cool, you’ve “been there and done that” for several years now, but it hasn’t fulfilled your needs. You thought maybe you could be a cosmetologist; but after completing all the classroom stuff with flying colors, you decided that was not your dream.

You’ve toyed with writing since 1982. You even started a book and had several people read the first few chapters. They all thought you had potential, but the perfectionist in you was afraid of failure.

Now you are once again teetering on the fence. You enrolled in a writing class and have received encouraging feedback on the first two assignments. You signed up for the free membership on WDC and then upgraded it.

So why are you reluctant to write and review? Why do you keep telling yourself you are not good enough to put yourself out there on the site? Why are you afraid to join a group or try to make friends?

Dorie, I want you to make me a few promises; it is your birthday and I want you to give yourself some presents—actually some WDC writing and reviewing presence.

I want you to agree that you will use that empty planner of yours to schedule at least two hours of writing time every day.

I want you to review at least two WDC authors every day. I want you to finish your vampire story, even though it decided it was not going to be a very short story after all.

I want you to keep up with your reading and writing for your classes, but I want you to add at least two items to your WDC portfolio each month. You are such a novice, so stretch yourself. Write in areas—genres—you never thought you could (like you did with the vampire story). Who knows what you true capabilities are, you sure don’t yet.

I also want you to mingle with the other writers on WDC; you can find them all over the place. If you start talking to them, who knows, something amazing could happen—they might actually talk back to you. But, most of all Dorie, I want you to stop being afraid. You are afraid of everything. You are afraid of failing, afraid of “not being good enough”, but most of all I think you are afraid of succeeding. Dorie, why is that?

Dorie, it is time you step out in confidence and just go for it. Let’s see how much you can really accomplish this year if you just let go of your fear.

Dorie, please trust me. I would never steer you wrong. You can do this.

Your best friend,

You

P.S.

Dorie I almost forgot, enter as many writing contests as possible (remember you are now fearless!). I have it from reliable sources that they are helpful for aspiring writers.