Life Lesson
Before You Start To Write
You Have Got To Read This And Follow The Leaders
Well here I am with my first piece for Readers Hope and I could think of nothing better to give you hopeful readers than something to inspire you as you think about setting off on your exciting new writer's journey. The three pieces I randomly chose all have at least one very important thing in common. Great writing.
The thing about great writing is that when you read it, it all seems so effortless. In fact that apparent effortlessness is hard won over a long period of trial and error. That is always the case with people who accomplish great things in their chosen field of endeavour, they make it all seem so easy when in fact it is anything but.
People love to talk about the genius of famous footballers like Leo Messi, or even more famous musicians like Paul McCartney. Do you know what genius is? Genius is the dedication of all your time and energy to a singular pursuit to the exclusion of all else.
Messi, McCartney in their chosen fields, and people like Andy Murphy, Eddy Goh and Julia E Hubbel here on Illumination are all great examples of giving your life to something which means something to you. The end result is that get really good at it, and it shows. Andy, Eddy and Julia may not be multi millionaires on the back of what they do just yet, but they are every bit as good at what they do than the other guys at what they do.
So, where does that leave you Dear Reader thinking about becoming a writer? Well you I can think of no better way to start than to read something well written by people just like you and me. They too began looking at a blank screen wondering what the hell am I going to write about? And, as you can see, they got it figured.
Maybe they looked at that screen a whole lotta time before writing their very first words. And maybe a time or two they just got up and went to that hot stove to make yet another hot coffee. And then they took that flea bitten old pooch for a stroll and maybe had a long chat with their grumpy old neighbour about how things aint what they used to be. But somewhere along the line they actually wrote a few words, and then a few more, and a few more..........And eventually they got to write so well that when I opened our submissions Q to look for some examples of good writing, in a matter of seconds something these guys and gals wrote grabbed me by the short and curlies by shouting out loud and clear "Hey, read me, I'm exactly what you're looking for huh!" And that my dear friends is all there is to it.
Get on it for the long haul. It's a marathon, not a sprint. And as Julia Hubbel says, you bet your ass you're gonna fall and get banged up a bit. And then some. But you know what? It beats the hell out of working for a living. So my advice is that whilst you are reading this scratching you ass wondering what to do next, clink on the links below and read a little more.
