Writers--Listen to Your Heart

This is a repeat from several years ago. It still has merit and is perfect for this Valentine week

A good many years ago, I submitted to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book for the first time. The story was a simple one, a childhood memory, that I thought might work for the Fathers and Daughters book. Maybe.

I hesitated to send it. Why? My pride told me it was impossible because rejection hurts a lot. Experience added that I hadn't been writing very long, and the Chicken Soup editors received hundreds, maybe even a thousand or more, submissions for each book. My chances were pretty slim. Reason stepped in and sneered at me as it said it was pointless to submit this story. What would it matter to the rest of the world? Then they laughed and I whimpered.

All three had ganged up on me, and then a funny thing happened. My heart whispered softly in my ear. Your story is something others can relate to. Go ahead and give it a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I pushed pride, experience and reason out the door. I liked what my heart told me.

I sent the story. Many months later, I received a notice that the story had made it to the finals. My heart did a happy dance. I waited a few weeks longer before learning that the story had made it into the book. What a thrill to hold the published book in my hand a few months later.

That story was "Love In A Box"  which is about a Valentine box my dad made for me when I was in the second grade. At age seven, I suddenly realized that my hardworking father truly loved me. That fact came as a startling discovery, one that left a life-long impression on me. Apparently, readers related to it and responded positively, so much so that the story has been published multiple times in English and some foreign languages.

What if I hadn't listened to my heart? What if I'd let those three bullies push me into a corner? Have you ever had a project that you wanted to submit somewhere but held back for one or more of the reasons above? What kept you from sending it? Were those three bullies---pride, experience and reason--invading your space, too?

Don't let them push you around. Remind yourself that you wrote a good story or poem or essay and that it deserves a chance. Get the submission ready, hit the Submit button and laugh at the three bullies. Listen to your heart. Your heart knows you better than those three twerps who try to place blocks in your way.

Remember this:  If you don't submit, you cannot be published.

My story Love in a Box is below.       

When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I made an announcement at the dinner table. The words bubbled out in a torrent of excitement I could no longer contain. “My teacher said we have to bring a box for our Valentines on Monday. But it has to be a special box all decorated.”

Mother said, “We’ll see,” and she continued eating.

I wilted faster than a flower with no water. What did “We’ll see” mean? I had to have that box, or there would be no Valentines for me. My second grade Valentine’s Day would be a disaster. Maybe they didn’t love me enough to help me with my project.

All day Saturday I waited, and I worried, but there was no mention of a Valentine box. Sunday arrived, and my concern increased, but I knew an inquiry about the box might trigger anger and loud voices. I kept an anxious eye on both my parents all day. In 1947, children only asked once. More than that invited punitive measures; at least in my house it 

Late Sunday afternoon, my father called me into the tiny kitchen of our apartment. The table was covered with an assortment of white crepe paper, red construction paper, and bits and pieces of lace and ribbon from my mother’s sewing basket. An empty shoebox rested on top of the paper. Relief flooded through me when Daddy said, “Let’s get started on your project.”

In the next hour, my father transformed the empty shoebox into a valentine box I would never forget. Crepe paper covered the ugly cardboard. My father fashioned a ruffled piece of the pliable paper and glued it around the middle. He cut a slot in the lid and covered it with more of the white paper. Next came red hearts attached in what I considered all the right places. He hummed a tune while he worked, and I kneeled on my chair witnessing the magical conversion of the shoebox and handing him the glue when he needed it. When he finished, my father’s eyes sparkled, and a smile stretched across his thin face. “What do you think of that?”

My answer was a hug and a “Thank you, Daddy.”

Inside, joy danced all the way to my heart. It was the first time that my father devoted so much time to me. His world consisted of working hard to support his family, adoring my mother, disciplining my brother and me, and listening to every sports event broadcast on the radio. Suddenly, a new door opened in my life. My father loved me.

Monday morning, my mother found a brown grocery sack to protect the beautiful box while I carried it to school. I barely felt the bitter cold of the February day as I held the precious treasure close to me. I would let no harm come to my special Valentine box.

My teacher cleared a space on a long, wide windowsill where the decorated boxes would stay until Valentine’s Day. I studied each one as it was placed on the sill, and none compared with mine. Every time I peeked at my Valentine box, I felt my father’s love. My pride knew no bounds. There were moments when the box actually glowed in a spotlight all its own. No doubt the only one who witnessed that glow was me.

Every day some of my classmates brought Valentine cards to school and slipped them into the slots of the special boxes. The holiday party arrived, and we brought our boxes to our desks to open the Valentines. Frosted heart cookies, red punch, Valentines and giggles filled our classroom. Chaos reigned until dismissal time arrived.

I carried my Valentine box home proudly. It wasn’t hidden in a grocery sack but held out for the world to admire. I showed it to the policeman who guided us across a busy city street. He patted me on the head and exclaimed over the box. I made sure everyone along the way took note of my Valentine box. My father had made it for me, and the love that filled the box meant more to me than all the valentines nestled inside.

From that time on, I never doubted my father’s feelings for me. The valentine box became a symbol of his love that lasted through decades of other Valentine Days. He gave me other gifts through the years, but none ever compared with the tender love I felt within the confines of the old, empty shoe box.

Originally published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dads and Daughters book

  

Writers, Assessment, and Courage

Our long anticipated Christmas has come and gone. We enjoyed being with family to celebrate more than any gift we received. So different from the quiet, and yes,  somewhat lonely, Christmas of 2020. 

This final week before 2022 comes rolling in is one to do some reflecting on what we have accomplished in our writing world this past year. I am one of those people who do not enjoy the newspapers and tv announcers rehashing all that occurred this past year. I prefer to look ahead, not back at what has come and gone. 

One exception is that I do think it is worthwhile for writers to take a look at what they did, or did not do, in 2020. Here is a list of questions you might ask yourself:

A.  Did I set any writing goals last January?

B.  If so, how many of those goals did I accomplish?

C.  Did I have the courage to venture into unknown territory with my writing?

D.  Did I have the courage to submit more of my work in 2020?

E.  Did I have the courage to revise and submit rejected material again?

F.  Did I make a certain amount of time for writing and stay with my schedule?

G.  Did I have more success with being published than in the prior year?

H.  Did I feel enthusiastic about my writing in 2020?

I.  Do I have unfinished projects?

J.  Am I looking forward to writing more and writing better in 2022?

K. Do I have the courage to work more and with greater intensity this next year?

L. How satisfied am I with my writing accomplishments this past year? 

You may have noticed that the word 'courage' was used in several of the questions in my list. Courage is one trait that all writers should have. Writers must learn to stand up for what they believe. This shows in their writing. Being timid and coming up with wishy-washy writing is not going to advance you on your writing journey. Most of all, writers need to have the courage to believe in themselves as writers. If you do, it shows in your writing, and if you don't, that becomes obvious in your writing, as well. 

Spend some time this week in assessing this last year of writing. We should do this before we start setting our goals for the next year. 

 

Do Writers Need Courage?

 

I am particularly fond of today's poster quote. It says "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says "I'll try again tomorrow."

There are days when our writing gives us one problem after another. Nothing seems to go right. We end up discouraged, depressed, and disgruntled. We need courage to go back to our writing the next day. We need that big roar that pushes us and makes us write well, get over the roadblocks that we fought today. 

But do we need the big roar, or is it enough to hear a little voice that whispers to us about trying again tomorrow? I think that is all we need, but we have to stop complaining to ourselves about our bad day and really listen. I often think that people 'hear' but do not 'listen.' There is definitely a difference. 

We should give ourselves some quiet time at the end of the day. Have a cup of tea. Sit in your rocking chair and rock. Somehow that motion is soothing to us as adults as much as it was when our mothers rocked us long ago. Close your eyes and listen for that voice that tells you to try again tomorrow. 

Success tomorrow is not guaranteed, but it is quite possible. After a night's sleep and being away from the troubled writing day we had, things are bound to go better. Especially if we approach our writing with the attitude that it's a new day, a fresh start, and do it with a smile, not a frown. 

Think about inventors. If they gave up when things didn't go right, we'd not have many of the great things we have today that make our life easier. Inventors must often have gone to bed feeling discouraged, but they listened to that little voice that gave them the courage to try again the next day. 

It's the same with athletes. If they didn't meet their goal, or even come close, on one day, they have a new day coming and are willing to try again. Like writers, they function with determination.

We writers do need courage to keep working at our craft. Courage is necessary when beginning a new project, when submitting work to a publication, when editing and revising a first draft. We use that courage to tamp down any fears we might have. When we have a good writing time, we feel great at the end of the day. When it is the opposite, we need a quiet time to listen to that little voice that tells us to try again tomorrow. 

Take One Cup of Courage and...

Sounds so simple, doesn't it? All you have to do is begin if you want to capture success.  Even so, taking that first big step to begin your journey isn't always so easy. We can feel like our feet are stuck in a muddy muck, and we can't pull one out to take that very first step. 

Has your dream been to write a book? Many writers start small but keep that special dream in place. You know you can write 1000 word personal essays or 2500 word short stories, but what about a 30,000-word novel? Or your memoir? Whew! You'll never know if you can do it unless you take those first steps. Take a cup of courage, add some hard work, and you may be surprised at how well things turn out.

I've always found that, once I get started on a writing project, the path becomes easier. The ideas and words flow better as I move from paragraph to paragraph after writing those crucial opening lines. 

If you have the idea for a novel or memoir that swirls through your mind on a daily basis but do nothing about it, what's the result? A big fat zero. No one else can read your words in your head. If that idea keeps haunting you, it's time to do something about it. 

It's time to start making an outline, creating characters, or sitting down to write your first chapter and see where it goes. It's only a first draft. You don't have to write something perfect initially. No one does. The important part is to get something written that you can look at, revise, and edit until you have a finished product. 

I've heard of far too many writers who tell themselves that they will spend a year writing the book. The year is up, and they might be halfway through the first draft or have finished one revision. It's far too difficult to set a timetable in the beginning as you don't know what glitches you'll run into. 

The important thing, to me, is to work continually. Don't work like you're driven for a month, then move on to something else. The longer you wait to return to the book, the easier it is to put it off even longer. Part of us fears what lies ahead, but remind yourself that, if you could begin, you can also finish. 

Have you ever read an article by a writer who mentions something like he/she has published 3 books and has 4 other unfinished novels gathering dust? If they've been successful already, why not pursue finishing those others? Of course, everyone has reasons for individual situations.

What if you use your cup of courage to begin this big project, then you run out of steam? You give up. It happens to some people, but it's not the end of the world. Life goes on; your writing life can go in other directions. Don't beat yourself up if it doesn't come out the way you dreamed. 

No one but another writer can understand that it does take a bit of courage--more than a bit sometimes--to start a writing project. We factor in so many little problems that we allow to hold us back. Of course, some writers have an idea and forge ahead like they have a deadline in only days. More power to them. We're all different people who approach our writing in various ways. That's quite alright. It would be boring if we all followed the very same formula for each new project. 

As the poster indicates, if you have the courage to start, you'll have a fine chance at being successful. 

Writers--Listen To Your Heart

A good many years ago, I submitted to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book for the first time. The story was a simple one, a childhood memory, that I thought might work for the Fathers and Daughters book. Maybe.

I hesitated to send it. Why? My pride told me it was impossible because rejection hurts a lot. Experience added that I hadn't been writing very long, and the Chicken Soup editors received hundreds, maybe even a thousand or more, submissions for each book. My chances were pretty slim. Reason stepped in and sneered at me as it said it was pointless to submit this story. What would it matter to the rest of the world? Then they laughed and I whimpered.

All three had ganged up on me, and then a funny thing happened. My heart whispered softly in my ear. Your story is something others can relate to. Go ahead and give it a try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I pushed pride, experience and reason out the door. I liked what my heart told me.

I sent the story. Many months later, I received a notice that the story had made it to the finals. My heart did a happy dance. I waited a few weeks longer before learning that the story had made it into the book. What a thrill to hold the published book in my hand a few months later.

That story was "Love In A Box"  which is about a Valentine box my dad made for me when I was in the second grade. At age seven, I suddenly realized that my hardworking father truly loved me. That fact came as a startling discovery, one that left a life-long impression on me. Apparently, readers related to it and responded positively, so much so that the story has been published multiple times in English and some foreign languages.

What if I hadn't listened to my heart? What if I'd let those three bullies push me into a corner? Have you ever had a project that you wanted to submit somewhere but held back for one or more of the reasons above? What kept you from sending it? Were those three bullies---pride, experience and reason--invading your space, too?

Don't let them push you around. Remind yourself that you wrote a good story or poem or essay and that it deserves a chance. Get the submission ready, hit the Submit button and laugh at the three bullies. Listen to your heart. Your heart knows you better than those three twerps who try to place blocks in your way.

Remember this:  If you don't submit, you cannot be published.