Be brave

 

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As far as I can so far make out, the three most valuable attributes for successful writing are the willingness to be brave and honest, stamina and imagination.  We need to be authentic, and to give expression to our unique voice, as well as stamina for the road ahead, and imagination to feed our prose.

Honestly, I wonder why I write, sometimes.  It is such a labour of love and the process is akin to leaping off a cliff without a parachute.  We leap, hoping for a soft landing.  And if we are not careful and proud of what we do, we can be injured by such comments as one I received recently, ‘Oh how are the mighty fallen…!’ when I said I was now writing women’s fiction.  That comment from an intimate of my circle could have stopped me in my tracks and made me take down everything….

Then, in a cooler moment, I recall that I write because, honestly, I want to express my version of the truth.  If we take it that few truths are immutable, and that most human truths are a matter of perspective, our view opens up the reality of a gazillion different opinions and sights on every question.

I also really enjoy writing.  You know those times when you don’t really give a damn what your fingers are doing, and you’re not listening for the phone or the doorbell.  When the time seems to go by faster than you’d like, and you feel the cold holding your legs stiff but are too far away to care…?  I love that feeling of crafting something different, being away in a different world.  That feeling is worth a great deal to me.  It makes me happy to smile when daughter comes home, when hubby asks ‘did you have a good day, and I can agree wholeheartedly that yes, I did, thank you.

Thanks for reading!

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