Love A Book * Love An Author

When I was a ten year old book worm and used to kiss the dust jacket pictures of authors as if they were icons, it used to amaze me that these remote people could provoke me to love.

~Erica Jong

 Can you identify? Have you ever kissed the picture of your favorite author, hugged a book to you and wondered in awe . . . just wondered.
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Who's On Your Team?

A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way. ~Swahili proverb

Another sports hero comes out of the blue. Are any of you watching Jeremy Lin play b-ball for the New York Knicks?

When Lin started with the Knicks, things changed. For one, they started winning. Why? Because Jeremy Lin is not a selfish player. He doesn’t hog the ball. He has a great attitude, and respect for his team.  He’s made the whole team better.

It occurred to me that we writers could learn a lesson from Jeremy Lin.

We need a team. And we need to hang together to make it a winning team. An editor’s job is to make us better. Our critique groups should make us better. Our beta readers should be honest with us so we can be better.  And hopefully, we reciprocate. Looks like we’re all here to help each other, doesn’t it?

The other day I heard someone say we should have selective hearing: “Listen to the ones who build you up.” I agree, but we have to be realistic--don't listen to phoney compliments.

Who builds you up? Who makes you feel like a better person, a better writer? What does your ‘writing team’ look like? We all need someone in our corner; more power to us if we have a team.

A Helping Hand

Nothing, not love, not greed, not passion or hatred, is stronger than a writer's need to change another writer's copy. - Arthur Evans