He is unabashadly liberal, so I should tell you this now, before you jump onto this site, b/c I TRY to stay away from anything political, BUT his post got me to thinking.
I do not finish any book and say - Look at what I did.
I look at every single book that I've written on my bookshelf, and I think about the times when I told my kids five more minutes and took twenty.
And I think about reading that book out loud to my husband before I sent it to my first beta reader because I trust him more than anyone.
And I think about my friend Heather who gets them all next.
And my long line of crit partners, which varies for each book.
And I think about my teachers, and my good luck in living in a country where I had access to education and books and internet and music and inspiration and people who told me I could do whatever I wanted if I was willing to keep working hard.
No one person accomplishes things on their own.
My parents taught me to love books.
My husband sacrifices real dinners for the crap that no one wants to eat at the bottom of the freezer b/c he needs to spend time w/ the kids so I can write.
Why would I ever dare to say that I did something on my own, when clearly so many incredible people are part of my life?
But.
Maybe that's me.
I'd just rather celebrate an accomplishment in a community, rather than on top of a pedestal I built for myself.
But yes, every once in a while, I look at my books and think - lookie what I did!! And I jump up and down and clap my hands like a little kid, lol. And then I cook an extra nice dinner, and put my computer away for the evening to hang with the fam.
(BTW. This is NOT in reaction to anything but my thoughts on how we're this awesome community of writers that I love being a part of, and I guess I want to make sure that all you people know how much a part of my writing life you are. And that's enough mooshy for one day ;-)
~ Jolene
14 comments:
Yes writing is more fun as a community effort. You have an excellent support system and I'm glad you're grateful for it.
I love books! All kinds of books, whether they are hardbound, board books, paperbacks, trade paperbacks, or electronic books.
My problem is I feel the need to use a marker in one of my precious Civil War reference books so I can later find the things I'm researching for a novel. So far, I've resisted. Will I be a bad, bad person if I give in and do it?
This is a sweet post! It takes a village to write a book. :)
True. Very, very true. I'm currently writing the acknowledgements for my first book and I'm a little worried it's going to end up being longer than the novel itself.
There is nothing wrong with a grateful attitude. The people who choose to assist you on your way to the top, should be thanked. :)
My husband just said he thinks I should do Nano and he'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, even come home early from work. What? :) There's no doubt I owe any writing success I have to a lot of amazing people.
I LOVE this community! How everyone is supportive of each other and wanting everyone to succeed at their own pace and time. Your post is so true, Jolene :)
I agree that without my little community, I would never have written a single book. Big hugs all around!
Somebody has all the feels today! :D
We can accomplish more together than we can divided. You are a speaker of truths, Jolene!
Somebody has all the feels today! :D
We can accomplish more together than we can divided. You are a speaker of truths, Jolene!
It takes a village ...
It's amazing how not solitary this profession is. All good points here.
Oh no. I could never just give myself credit for anything writing related I've accomplished. I definitely had help :) Thanks for the reminder!
I went and read John Green's post and I can't agree with both of you more. Not one person got where they are without a community. And I love that our community is so great!
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