I was asked to be a guess writer! After doing an elated happy dance (which undoubtedly will find it's way on to YouTube), I thought my journey as a serious writer begins... now!
I had my topic. I searched the internet for hours so I could present a competent and thorough piece. I thought of new and innovative ways I could approach the topic and made my outline. This was my beginning. The start of it all. The BIG time! The website had thousands of register users. It was a little scary but exciting. I could do this. A large audience and maybe several agents or editors. I could feel the rising pressure. My brilliant writing must amaze readers. More pressure rising. It would be an educational, witty, allegorical masterpiece! Even more pressure mounting. Isn't the Pulitzer Prize still up for grabs? People would quote and talk about this piece for years. Panic attack just around the corner! Oh no! Would this be epic writing or colossal FAIL?!
I put off the assignment, a self imposed cooling off period, to come back fresh. When I was ready to tackle the assignment, I went to the website only to discover... someone else had written my article.
Just like that, my big opportunity had been written by someone else. I had failed without even trying. I had let doubt, procrastination, and self imposed pressure cripple my efforts. These are not the actions of the professional writer I aspire to be.
J.K. Rowling said, "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
Perhaps you are thinking, "We've all heard it a million times!" Sometimes it's good to just hear it one more time. Choose to live your dream as a writer NOW. Seize the day! Be the writer you want to be right now. Today is your day to make your dreams come true.
This story does have a happy ending. To be continued....
If not now, then when? I absolutely agree, we are the authors, if we don't try, who will?
ReplyDeleteLove it, as usual, Erika!
I sometimes wonder about that, too. Am I really saying something new? But then I think about the fact that I can hear talks on the same subject for years and suddenly someone will say something in a new way, and it will propel me to make a change. If it's in your heart, share it. How many love songs have been written? Does that mean people should stop writing them? It's all been said before? Not the way you'll say it. We share common perspectives and experiences, but we are all unique and can add to each other's strength!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I think that sometimes people miss "talks" and only hear them when they NEED to hear them, so it is important to share when we feel the need to - there is someone out there who truly needs to hear it!!
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