You don't just luck into things . . . You build step by step, whether its friendships or opportunities. --Barbara Bush.
Remember the Hare and Tortoise fable? The plotting tortoise who, no doubt, all the other animals in the forest looking on, thought: Ha, he's going nowhere. How ridiculous! What is he thinking?
The speeding hare, dancing around the turtle, probably skipping backwards, taunting, "Take your time, old fella. Wanna give up now? Before we start? I mean, look at me . . ."
Does this remind you of anything?
Thinking of a plot
Fleshing out characters
Brainstorming
PlateauStruggling to get a rough synopsis down
First sentence
Plateau
Paragraph
First page
First chapter
First third of the book
Plateau
Step by step. We struggle. We breeze through. We hesitate. We fall on our face with the first rejection. Push ourselves up and take another baby step. And another.
Put that book on a shelf.
Begin a new one.
One step at a time, we develop our skills, our talent. Our confidence. Just like the tortoise. He wasn't a runner. He was a plodder.
But he won the race: one step at a time.
And we can too, by taking that first step, and then another.
*******
I haven't talked about this forever: when I draw a name to win a book, I love it when you contact me and let me know you received it. IF YOU DON'T, let me know that. Writers/authors are busy people. They may forget. Life may get in the way. BUT I don't want you to miss out on something you legitimately won. So, tell me. I'll make it right somehow. Smile.
*******
So. . . the winner of Anne Greene's fantastic sounding book: Masquerade Marriage is . . .
Ann Lee Miller!
Congratulations. Look for your email, Ann.
*******
Coming this spring:
A Huge giveaway for my followers. Look for it!
Blessings
2 comments:
Yep, I so hate plodding, but then, in the end, we realize it didn't take nearly so long as we dreaded. It always happens that way. What I wonder when I read this is why we all still seem so not-so-secretly proud that we feel more like hares? He didn't win, but we still would rather be thought of as hares than tortoises most of the time. Just thinking too much in the early morning.
Jill, oh, yes. We're like that. And know better. Thanks for the comment.
cb
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