Good News! You can do it!

If you feel a little discouraged today...don't be. You can do it! If God has given you the desire and the inspiration to write - you can do it. It may take a while and you may have to work hard - very hard. The good news is that you can do it.

How do I know? How can I sit here at my computer and know what's going through your mind hundreds or thousands of miles away? Because my darling friend - everyone has those thoughts of fear. Everyone wonders if they are good enough, smart enough, inspired enough or just plain do I have enough time?

All through high school and college I loved to write. I loved to construct challenging situations with a surprise ending. I loved watching someone read my story with a ho hum and then laugh or cry at the ending as their eyes danced with surprise. Gotcha.

Unfortunately every paper was returned with A++ for content and D- for grammar. No matter how hard I tried it seemed impossible to receive higher than a C- on grammar. For years I went on with my life sure that I was not meant to be a writer.

The fire still burned. It was only a smouldering ember...but it was there. When my children were all in school I once again picked up the pen convinced that my writing would only be for my family.

You probably know this story well. There's something in your heart or mind that keeps you from writing. Some little thing that you are sure you can't overcome.

I am positive whatever it is that steals your commitment to writing - it can be overcome.

I found out that I'm not an idiot. I can learn grammar. My writing was wrote rotten, but I are learning. (ha ha) The real dragon isn't what we can't do....the dragon that must die is our lack of determination.

Debbie...you have no idea how hard it is for me. I'm struggling financially and I have medical issues. It's just too hard. You have no idea.

Would you like to hear about a lady who had to take money from her meager household budget to buy the supplies to write? She knew everytime she used a piece of paper that it was coming at the expense of her family. Add to that a medical problem. She was dyslexic. Writing is hard enough when you don't have problems. Writing and creating understandable text is extremely difficult when every letter is twisted.

I attended two writer's conferences within one week of each other - I survived! Wonderful opportunities opened for me. I haven't written on this blog simply because I have deadlines that must be met. That's a wonderful problem.

The Good News for you is that I talked with a lot of writers and editors. No one said their career just took off. Everyone had a story about how long or hard the struggle was.

The Keynote speaker for Mt. Hermon Christian Writer's Conference was Debbie Macomber. She is a romance fiction author and humorist, has become one of the best-loved authors in America, having written over 100 novels with more than 60 million books in print. She's won the Rita and the first-ever Quill Award (reader's choice) for romance fictions, as well as the "triple crown of publishing" - having a book hit the NY Times, Publisher's weekly and USA Today bestseller lists nine times. In September 2007, Debbie's new book, 74 Seaside Avenue, bumped Harry Potter's newest book out of the #1 NY bestsellers spot! Debbie is a much-loved speaker. Her presentations are filled with humor, and listeners come away with inspiration, encouragement and deep spiritual insight.

She was all that! She was warm, funny and even more gracious in person. Her first talk was entitled, "How to become famous in 20 years or less." She told us how difficult it was to take money slotted for her children and spend it to learn her craft. Imagine our surprise after listening to all her accomplishments to find out that she is dyslexic.

The point of her talk can be summed up in one piece of her story. When she went to her first writer's conference and approached an editor to discuss her submission she was told that her novel was awful. When she fought through the tears and disappointment to ask, "How can I fix it?" She was told that the best thing for her to do was to throw it in the trash. As she relayed her story with love and compassion - I heard sniffing throughout the audience.

We all know what it feels like to be told that your work has failed. Be encouraged....her story didn't stop there. She was wounded but she continued to work at her craft. She continued to study and to write. She continued.....

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall the first time that editor heard that Debbie Macomber was on the NY Times bestseller list? I would.

Guess what? We all have that chance. We all have the right to share our voice, our thoughts, our beliefs. We all have the right to continue to work at our craft and to be heard!

At lunch Debbie and I talked about the voices in our heads that continually tell us that we aren't good enough or inspired enough to write. She smiled and dipped her head slightly to make sure I heard what she said,

"We can't afford to listen to those thoughts. We have to fight through them and realize that God has given us a gift. A gift we must share. Tell your readers to work hard but never, never give up!"

There you have it....straight from Debbie Macomber. Don't give up. Keep trying and someday you'll make it.

Check out Debbie's website at http://www.debbiemacomber.com/ I encourage you to read her books. She's wonderful.

God loves you and has called you to write,

Debbie