Once upon a time, there was a girl with a dream. She was a voracious reader and sought solace, and found comfort between the pages of a book. The beautiful cover enticed her, the story synopsis intrigued her, and once she delved in, she was transported to a new world. A world that would wait for her, when dinner was served. A world that brought tears to her eyes with its beauty. A world that gave her hope and helped inspire new goals in her.
That girl was me. All I ever dreamed of, was being an Author. All I ever wanted, was to touch people in the same way that I was touched. I wanted to inspire people, put a smile on their faces and yes, even bring them to tears.
The question all Authors ask themselves, is: “Am I good enough?”
Here’s my take on that question, because you can be sure that I’ve asked it to myself.
Yes. The answer is a resounding YES. I’ll tell you why: dreams are those incredible things that don’t fall under a category of right or wrong. Dreams, by their very definition, are good enough.
What you have to do is push fear away. Push it THE. HELL. AWAY.
Fear has no place in an Author’s mind. Go with your HEART and fear will subside. It may not be as easy to do as it is to imagine, but my secret is as simple as that.
For the sake of this article, I will be quite frank. I don’t care what others think. Not in the way you are imagining. Of course, I want my readers to fall in love with my characters. What I mean is, once the story is in me and once I write it, I don’t seek Beta readers to tell me it’s “okay” or even “great.” I don’t stuff it in a drawer and wait a few months, re-read it, edit it to death or not at all. I don’t second-guess myself, NOT ONCE.
So how do I know I’m good enough? Because I… me… the Author… is good enough. The pen only writes from the fluid motion of the person holding it. To put it another way – if you love yourself, I mean, TRULY love yourself, your stories will follow suit. Your stories ARE you. You are the walking, talking, (writing) dream.
If you are out to make a few bucks, slap together a few words, publish them under the guise of something great, but never really invest in the words, you may not feel “good enough” at all. But you also won’t care.
If you are out to make people laugh, cry, sing and dance in their living room, then you are good enough to do that. You have the right goal in mind.
Don’t mimic. Don’t buy countless books on “How To Be a Great Writer.” Do not stress. Take your dreams and write them down. Don’t be scared. Whatever happens, at least you did it “your way.” At least you stayed true to YOU. At the very least, you stared fear in the face, fought it and won.
However, if you do all that, I can assure you that one day, a little girl sitting in her bedroom, will pick up something you wrote, read it and will stare into space when she’s finished and forever remember you for the fearless, talented, creative, loving soul that should inhabit an Author.
She may even cry.