Musings

My random thoughts about writing…and I’ve given this a LOT of thought…

You can quote me on it:

  • Writing isn’t just about communicating; it’s also about influencing — maybe even changing — a life or two or a thousand, for the better.
  • If people criticize your work, rejoice!  It means you’re an accomplished writer.  After all, critics don’t waste their ink on mediocre writers. Bottom line: If you have no critics, you likely have no successes.
  • No one was born published.  Let me say that again — no one. Every published writer has had to figure it out somehow.
  • I once read: “Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” I don’t find writing to be quite that hard, but compared with other work, like harvesting wheat, managing a company, delivering a keynote address, teaching a college classroom, or being a mom (all of which I’ve done), writing is easy.
  • I can’t give you the keys to be successful in writing. You have to find that within yourself, just as I have. But I can tell you what helps: misery. So does hunger, and perseverance, and muddle, and criticism; so does leaving home and working crap jobs. Unrequited love, losing a pet, and disappointing your child help too.
  • Writers: trust your instinct, but check your facts. If your mother says she loves you, check it.
  • Don’t hold onto your writing dreams too tightly. God may have other plans. For example on 9/11, I learned more than my share of lessons that day. Besides learning (or being reminded) how important family, friends and country are, that evil truly does exist, and that we’ve taken tolerance of evil too far in this country, I learned not to put too much hope into one book. On 9/11 my book, The Small Business Owner’s Guide to a Good Night’s Sleep, was launched to the news media via 970 faxed news releases at 8 a.m. One hour later the releases were buried under the bigger news of the day. Then, my publisher put a ban on publicity because the book is about how small businesses can weather crisis situations and he did not want to appear to be exploiting a bad situation.  My whole life, career and future changed that day.  But I was one of the lucky victims of that day: I survived it.