President Obama delivers a speech on education at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va., Tuesday. (AP Photo)This week, President Obama delivered a speech that was telecast to America's school children. I watched the speech and I got to thinking that the President's words could apply to other situations and environments. In fact, I knew it could also be applied to writing.
While I am going to paraphrase, you'll get the meaning of what President Obama was saying. We can have schools with teachers, parents and the government working to make them the best, but it is the child's responsiblity to stay in school, make the grades, set goals and reach for his dreams. Ultimately, the responsiblity remains with the student.
And so it is with your writing. You can attend the best writer's conferences, participate in the most helpful critique groups, and read hundreds of books on how to hone your craft, but it is up to you whether or not you have the writing career you desire. You have to use what is offered to you to the best of your ability and make it happen.
When I tell people I'm lazy, they laugh at me. How can someone who is so busy, be lazy? But when it comes to my writing, I am. Why? Because being published isn't what motivates me. Being creative, writing down my thoughts, and reading good books is what motivates me more than anything. With five blogs, the articles I put together for Writer2Writer, and the occasional fan fiction story I dabble in, I reach most of those goals. Add in the books I review, and I'm all set.
And honestly, I'm much better at motivating others than myself. I enjoy cheering people on and helping them improve their work. Someone has just asked me to be her writing coach and help keep her focused on a project that needs to be completed quickly. I jumped at the chance.
In all things, we must be honest with ourselves and admit what it holding us back. We have to realize that no matter what, you are responsible for putting into motion the things that will turn you into a published author.
You have the power to make your dreams come true. Use it!
2 comments:
Would love to hear more about being a Writing coach. Congratulations.
Yeah, me too! LOL! Seriously, this will be the first time I've tried it, so we'll see how it goes.
The client has a book that must be turned around quickly and she wants to stay motivated. Every week she will send me what she has written. I, in turn, will let her know if the story is working, pick up inconsistencies, and proivde general comments.
There is no line-by-line editing involved, so it's not a tremendous amount of work.
I think it will be good for both of us.
Cheryl
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