The base of
the word “encourage” is courage, which comes from the Latin word “cor” meaning
“heart”. And what I need
the most help with in my writing is courage and persistence.
I need connections with fellow writers to inject some new enthusiasm
when I lose steam: Take heart, don’t give
up…That’s pretty good!…What about this market?…Keep trying! I am fortunate to have a number of these
connections, one of which recently surprised me.
One of my
encouragers is a friend I used to work with who is a technical writer, who
writes mostly corporate and non-fiction articles. Although we normally get together to
socialize (and eat!), sometimes we talk about our writing. Almost every time we connect, she encourages
me to plan ahead and to schedule time to write, and has endless publishing
ideas for my many projects.
Another
connection is my mother, my cheerleader.
My mom has enjoyed writing for many years and she gets deliriously happy
when I have writing successes, or even when I tell her that I have found time
to write. But this connection goes both
ways because my mom looks to me for a gauge of what the publishing world is
like, and she sometimes asks me to give feedback on her writing.
Probably my
most valuable and consistent community is you, the Inscribe bloggers. It is a privilege to be included as a
contributor. I find it very encouraging when I get comments, and I enjoy
commenting on others’ posts. I also grow
and get inspiration online through connections with the Children’s Writer newsletter
and a few other writing-related ezines, and CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of
Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers).
At the
moment, I have an unusual “partnership” with technology. Three weeks ago, I fractured my elbow and
while I can handwrite, I cannot type and probably will not be able to for
several more weeks. Enter voice
recognition software! Yes, Microsoft Word
2003 allowed me to compose this entire post by speaking, what a wonderful help. I have also recently written a post on my own
blog using my cell phone, which has a superior voice recognition tool! Who knew?
With all of
these uplifting partners injecting courage and support into my writing life, I
guess I’m not really alone at my computer, am I?
Posted by
Ramona
