Five-Minute Writing Tip:
The Big Dare; The Big Panic

Dare and Dream

This five-minute writing tip was inspired by two June holidays. June 1 is Dare Day. It’s defined as a day to challenge someone, even yourself, to push the envelope, or take a risk—it’s a call-to-action day. Procrastinators and weenies step aside. Yep, this is a day for me. If you’ve read my recent musings, you’ll know that I’m staying the course in making some positive and productive changes in my writing life.
After twenty-five years of writing, and knowing that many folks read my books and enjoy them, is the best aspect of success. Having someone tell me they love my books, plots, and characters is enough to make a plethora of happy days for me.
But I have been in denial about telling myself that financial success wasn’t important. And that if I focused on the money, I’d be greedy and selfish. Where did that ever come from? I can guess, but I won’t go there.
The point is that with financial success comes opportunities to share my ideas, and creations with others. I’m a teacher by profession and sharing my knowledge and experience is a joy that resonates deep down. It’s priceless to see a light bulb go off in someone’s head as they listen to my ideas, knowledge, and experiences.
And having some extra bucks in the bank allows me to do this more often. It also allows me to support causes I believe in. I’ve always donated a portion of my royalties to various groups, but the more I earn, the more I can share.
After twenty-five years of writing and telling myself financial success wasn’t necessary and that knowing a few folks read my books and enjoyed them was enough, I’ve found that those folks, by far, are the best aspect of success. Having someone tell me they love my books, plots, and characters are enough to make a plethora of days for me.
But I have been in denial about telling myself that financial success wasn’t important. And that if I focused on the money, I’d be greedy and selfish. Where did that ever come from? I can guess, but I won’t go there.
The point is that with financial success comes opportunities to share my ideas. And creations with others. Being a teacher by profession, sharing my knowledge and experience is a joy that resonates deep down. It’s priceless to see a light bulb go off in someone’s head as they listen to my ideas, knowledge, and experiences.
And having some extra bucks in the bank allows me to do this more often. It also allows me to support causes I believe in. I’ve always donated a portion of my royalties to various groups, but the more I earn, the more I can share.
Where’s the writing tip in this? Here:
Get clear on your goals and desires as an author.
Don’t underestimate yourself or sell yourself short.
Don’t listen to negative comments that tell you what you want is not possible. Here are some comments I’ve heard many times. Now I view them as a triple-dog dares.
“If your first book isn’t a bestseller, you’ll never get a second book published.”
“It’s harder to find an agent than a publisher.”
“If you publish a series, you can’t change publishers in mid-stream. No other publisher will ever consider your work.”
“It’s impossible to get your book turned into a screenplay, and if you do, chances are slim to none that it will ever be seen on any-sized screen, especially the BIG one.”
I’ve proved the first three edicts wrong, and it wasn’t hard to do. And blasting the last one into oblivion is starting to look good. This wouldn’t have happened had I not dared myself to change my thinking, take a risk, and start believing, I mean REALLY believing, in myself.
Life is good, and so is a sweet bank account.
Now comes the second quirky June holiday that caught my attention. June 18 International Panic Day. Wanting to make changes is one thing. Making them is another. It’s like taking a giant leap of faith, and when that time comes, it’s exciting but terrifying; and panic, for me, sets in. But with my changed way of thinking, the panic doesn’t last long because my faith is stronger than it’s ever been. In situations like this, I always ask myself, what’s the worst that can happen? Answer: I’ll be out some money. What’s the best that can happen? I might have enough money to save the world.
What usually happens is something in the middle. That something is pretty darn good too.