The Writer Behind the Words

by Dara Girard

  Read something out of your area of expertise.

  Seek advice from a trusted writing buddy.

  Persistence

  Half the failures of this world arise from pulling ones horse as he is leaping.

  AUGUSTUS HARE

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  In spite of setbacks and obstacles, successful writers continue to write. They don’t quit. They fall down, but get up again no matter how hard the blow. Many of us feel helpless and out of control when something unexpected happens. We then spend time blaming people or circumstance. Most people get stuck at this stage and wallow in “what could have been.”

  Successful writers, on the other hand, move past this stage and come up with a new strategy. Persistence is the trait of all great artists. You’ll need to develop yours.

  Ways To Improve Your Persistence

  Make your plans public. If you’re going to write an article, have a friend keep tabs on you. Make yourself accountable.

  Measure your commitment to your goal. How much does it mean to you? What will happen if you don’t reach it?

  Write down your mission statement. Keep it somewhere so you can see it.

  Listen to music you love, especially warrior music (themes from movies where a character overcame obstacles or anything that inspires you, whether it be a rowdy country song, rock, or a gospel tune).

  Come up with alternative plans to reach the same goal.

  Call someone for a pep talk or a strategy session.

  Create a chant. “I’m a lean, mean writing machine.” “When I write, the world is at my mercy.”

  Vision

  The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious.

  JOHN SCULLEY

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  We are all called to serve in one way or another. Successful writers know their purpose is to serve the world through writing. I encourage you to come up with your life mission statement. Do you want to entertain children? Instruct, heal, or encourage people? Your words will be a gift to the world, know what you want them to do.

  Ways to Improve Your Vision

  Dream big dreams! The kind that make your heart race. The kind that you’re a little afraid might come true. (Don’t forget to write them down.)

  Identify your audience. You can’t properly serve people you don’t understand. Have someone in mind when you’re writing, even if it’s you.

  Envision what kind of book has your name on it. What does it look like? Is it hardcover or paperback? Sketch out an idea.

  Create a brilliant review for your book.

  Create letters to the editor that applaud your article.

  Create a list of magazines –in which you would like to see your byline.

  Write a tale, or imagine how your work will affect people.

  Do you see an entirely different storytelling style? A hybrid genre

  Go to a bookstore and imagine seeing your books there on the shelves.

  Envision your life in five years, then ten. Write down what you’re doing, where you’re living, and how you go about your day-to-day activities.

  Grace

  Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked long; even if it is the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one, and the great charm of all power is modesty.

  LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

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  Many of the top writers don’t gossip about the industry or other writers. They don’t grumble online or gripe about their woes to anyone who will listen. They don’t go to conferences to have a whinefest (writers are great whiners). I won’t say they are model citizens, but they are generous with their time and knowledge (yes, I know there are exceptions, but you don’t want to be one of those, I hope). These writers are humble about their gifts, don’t talk about their competition in unflattering terms and are respected in the field.

  Ways to Improve Your Grace

  Offer advice to someone who is struggling.

  Give praise.

  Find out the names of people you work with, the name of the editor’s assistant, your postal carrier. Acknowledge them from time to time.

  Send gifts for no reason.

  Limit the time you spend online in chat rooms, blogs, message boards or loops. It’s very easy to slip into gossip.

  Clarity

  If you despise your readers, they will probably despise you.

  ANDREW GREELEY

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  Great writers don’t try to impress their readers with large vocabularies or grand ideas. They write to be understood, to instruct or entertain — nothing more. Don’t play it safe, say what you mean; let your words shine.

  Ways to Improve Your Clarity

  Use both short and long sentences.

  Read books on craft (e.g., The Elements of Style by Strunk and White)

  Identify your audience. Keep them in mind as you write. Writing for teenagers is different from writing for middle-aged housewives or immigrant students.

  Measure the readability of your prose. You can find tools for this in Microsoft Word and other resources. Remember most successful writers write at the 6th grade level or below.

  Faith

  Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.

  RITA MAE BROWN

  By listening to the creator within, we are led to our right path.

  JULIA CAMERON

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  Many successful writers have a spiritual connection, not necessarily a religious one. They are in tune with themselves and their place in the universe. They believe that writing is what they are meant to do and have faith that things will turn out well. Faith is sometimes seen as a dirty word or merely a religious one. Don’t make this mistake. Faith is the foundation of dreams realized. When all looks bleak, faith is your sunshine. When the statistics are against you, faith makes them meaningless. Will your faith get shaken? Probably. Is that bad? No. Just don’t let the doubts last. Constantly focus your energy on the future that you want, not the future that you don’t want. If you don’t want to stay broke, don’t study why writers struggle or get low pay. Study the rich ones and model them.

  If you don’t want to be an obscure author, don’t read about the lives of authors who died in poverty and had their work discovered after their death. Study those who were successful in their own time. Study success. Surround yourself with people and things that propel you forward. Once you are a financial success, then you can worry about the plight of the lowly author and provide help.

  Ways to Improve Your Faith

  Learn to listen to your gut, instincts, or whatever you wish to call it.

  Learn to say “no” to things that aren’t part of your plan. The world will not crash and burn if you tell your sister you can’t baby-sit or that you can’t help your neighbor with his taxes this year.

  Write about anything for fifteen minutes without stopping.

  Write affirmations (more on this later) and say them every day.

  Three Necessary Keys for Resilience

  It is the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance, sweeps away all obstacles.

  CLAUDE M. BRISTOL

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  There are three traits that can determine whether you will be successful with resilience: passion, focus and initiative.

  Passion

  Passion is a great equalizer. Success doesn’t depend on intelligence, degrees or talent. Success depends on passion. All the great figures in history had a burning passion and achieved amazing things. You can too. Keep the fire of desire burning in your heart and you’ll find the solutions to all obstacles. Passion will delete the word “impossible.” Enthusiasm will make every day exciting. Get in touch with what makes you angry, happy or
miserable. Experience these feeling and come alive again.

  When you live with passion, your life will expand in ways you could never dream of.

  Focus

  The secret of success is constancy of purpose.

  BENJAMIN DISRAELI

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  Put your energy into developing your strengths. Too many people spend their time trying to become perfect. They put their focus on trying to fix their procrastination or nasty temper or bad habits instead of focusing on what they want. The sun is a huge source of light and energy; the laser is much smaller, yet a laser can do more damage. The reason is focus. Focused energy is very powerful.

  You don’t need to be perfect to achieve your goal. You’re not a car or a machine that needs all the kinks smoothed out in order to work properly. You’re a human with unlimited potential. Focus on your strengths and how they can serve your purpose.

  Discover what your career is about (or what you want it to be about). Try to limit it to one thing. Is it about entertainment? Enlightenment? Healing? What is your core theme? All writers have a core theme that runs through their work, both fiction and non-fiction, no matter the format. Find yours. It will keep you from being swayed from your mission.

  Initiative

  Don’t wait for the wind; start paddling the boat. Many writers like to wait for inspiration. Reach out and grab it or, better yet, do without it. Write, write, write. Don’t wait for the right moment, right idea or the right equipment. Get started. As I said earlier, action is the key to success.

  Don’t confuse praise with self-worth. Some people will love your work, award it and congratulate you. Others will strike it down and call you names: hack, amateur, semi-literate twit. Accept the words that build up your spirit and ignore the rest.

  Expect success and work towards it. Make your attitude your ally. You don’t have to “think positive” but you do need to believe that you are worthy of a successful, abundant, and joyful life. What you think will make your journey difficult or easy. If you were told that tomorrow you would be greeted with a huge bouquet, wouldn’t you wake up with joy? But if you were told that you would be greeted by a punch in the nose, wouldn’t you wake up with dread? Neither incident may happen but what you think will happen is key to how you will face the next day. So tell yourself wonderful things. Since you’re on this journey, you might as well enjoy it.

  Achieve Abundance

  To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.

  E.E. CUMMINGS

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  You can succeed as you are with all your doubts and fears. But there are thoughts that will hinder your progress and may even sabotage your dreams. Many people live with beliefs that depress them and limit their freedom from fear.

  Here are some thoughts to throw away:

  Life is about suffering

  Only the strong survive

  You have to struggle to get what you want

  It’s a dog eat dog world

  You must sacrifice everything to reach your dreams

  Poverty is the price an artist pays for freedom

  It’s selfish to want to be rich

  God doesn’t like money

  Only certain people are blessed

  Some people are lucky and I’m not one of them

  These thoughts are based on a concept of “scarcity thinking.” Scarcity thinking is the belief that there is only a limited amount of money, ideas, time, energy, and whatever to go around. Many people live as though lacking something is a part of life. This type of thinking creates a competitive and unhealthy atmosphere and makes the spirit wither. That is why, when people suffer a disappointment or setback, they become angry at those who succeed. They become bitter seeing others achieve what they believe should be theirs. Their hearts ache when they see someone win an award, reach a bestseller’s list, or make other achievements because they think it should have been them.

  People can’t help feeling this way. We are raised in a very competitive society and we are programmed to think that for someone to win others must lose. That is true in the limited world, but in the world of abundance that is not true. Everyone wins. They just have to wait their turn. There are money, ideas, and time enough for you, if you stop trying to horde them, and try instead to live with peace.

  Remove thoughts of scarcity from your mind and move free into the world of abundance. There is plenty to go around. The universe has abundant riches waiting for you to tap into. Open your mind to the possibility of a life where you can write and make a living for yourself and your family. A life where you can make a living doing what you love. It can be a frightening thought to believe that you can work towards your dreams and see them come true. Have the courage to try.

  Finding your Spiritual Guide

  False beliefs are the shadows that keep people safe and in the dark. An affirmation is a light in that darkness. It is a statement of what you want to be true now. I want to be a writer is not an affirmation, I am a writer is. You may balk at what I’m saying and your inner critic may rise up and mock you. Good. Listen to it. You have to face it in order to defeat it.

  Pay attention to the thoughts that come to the surface. Are they familiar ones that have held you back before? What voices of “reality” keep you from joy? A number of our fears start with our religious upbringing that has taught us about a God (if you are not religious you can replace the term God with universe or energy) that is cold and unfeeling and wants us to suffer for the ultimate good. I had a hard time believing in such a being. I didn’t think God would give me a desire to write then punish me for it. If you have a desire to create, that is how you are to serve the world. You are not a mistake.

  God is the ultimate artist. Just look at the world around you, the various languages, music, and colors. God respects and delights in your gifts. I suggest that you create the following two lists. List ten characteristics of the God of your past, the vengeful angry God that you grew up with. The one you were taught to fear. The one you believe will never let you live your dream because you’re not good enough. The one that thinks there is honor in poverty, the one that would never support you being an artist. Write down ten of his (her/its) characteristics. Next write ten attributes of God as you would like him/her/it to be. Kind, supportive, loving, generous with money and ideas.

  Next, look at both lists. There you will see your past and future. Release the God of your past and grasp the hand of the God of your future. Get to know that God and make him (her/it) your spiritual leader and guide. Believe in a universal spirit that wants you to be happy.

  Genius begins great works; labour alone finishes them.

  JOUBERT

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  Secret Truths

  No one has to fail so that you can succeed. As stated before, many people believe that the world is about survival of the fittest. That is not so. You do not have to be an aggressive barbarian in order to get what you want. You can be generous and kind and still succeed. Sometimes it’s the thoughts of society that stop us, but other times it is our own inner truths.

  Create a list of reasons why you can’t succeed as a writer.

  I can’t succeed because…

  I’m not smart

  I have poor grammar

  I don’t have time

  I have a family to support

  I’m too conservative to be a real artist

  I’m disorganized

  I’m not bold enough

  I don’t like to take risks

  I’ll probably fail

  Come up with your own reason(s), then identify ones that sound like a past discourager (a parent, teacher, sibling, current myth) and release them. Identify the ones that reveal your own hidden fears. Acknowledge then release them. You may not be able to identify whe
re some of these reasons come from. That doesn’t matter. Just acknowledge them, then release them.

  Yes, I know it sounds corny, especially when the car won’t start, you’ve had low scores on every contest you’ve entered, you’ve reached a certain birthday or you haven’t managed to sell any writing in three years. I know it may sound silly, but as Napoleon Hill said, what the mind believes it can achieve.

  One writer I know regularly told herself “I am a multi-published author” for the six years she was unpublished, and today she has five books on the market and is under contract for two more. So create a statement of power — an affirmation — for your life.