Hello and happy Tuesday! Thanks so much for joining us on another hot summer day. We really appreciate you!
Here is this week’s challenge:
What advice would you give yourself when you first started writing?
If I’d known then what I know now…
First, I’d have to remind myself that this writing journey and publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. Writing is not the hardest part, but it is the most rewarding. I love the process, I love editing, and choosing my covers. I love seeing the actual books and holding them. But it’s certainly not easy.
Over the years, I have been told everything from I am a very talented writer to I should get a real job (that from a women who plagiarized my work). I have been told that writing time travel is stupid since it’s not real. (Says who?) And I have been told I write wonderful stories.
I’ve faced my own self-doubt and ‘imposter syndrome’ moments. (Sometimes longer than moments).
But the best advice I ever received was from my husband: ‘Don’t give up’.
No matter how difficult, how challenging, how frustrating, if you never quit, you will never fail. You might have to pick yourself up again and again, but then courage is just that. Picking yourself up over and over. It takes courage not to be discouraged.
So, I have learned that writing is a reward in itself. Anything else good that happens is just frosting and any bad stuff is just like okra in your pasta. (I happen to dislike okra!) So just push it aside and move on.
If you have a story (or stories) to tell, don’t quit until you’ve told them all. Even if that means writing forever.
Now let’s hop over to the talented Jenna Da Sie and hear her advice…
Leslie Hachtel, Writer 