THOUGHTS FOR A WRITER'S WEEK

While, Alpha Centauri is a bit out of the realm of possibility, those who reach for the stars may find the moon. Just because, despite all your struggle and travail, you don't quickly reach your desired ultimate destination, doesn't mean you have not made progress. Experience is the best teacher - so take them, the good and bad, use them. Take stock of how far you have gotten. Then prepare that next step. Take heart in that you are not alone.

Author's, as with many other professions - athletes, scientists, teachers, ... - tend to be very introspective. We compare our work with that of other author's - especially those that are successful. We agonize that we are not good enough; that we don't measure up. I learned long ago that I'm not Isaac Asimov or Robert A. Heinlein; John Sandford or John Grisham; J. R. R. Tolkein or Brandon Sanderson; Dean Koontz or Stephen King. So what? When each of these extremely talented writers began their careers, I have no doubt they were comparing themselves to their precursors - Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville, ... Each learned the same lesson: I'm not them. My writing is my own. I can take inspiration from my writing heroes, allow some of their style and flair to percolate into my own morass of stewing ideas - It just adds flavor and makes the end product taste better. In the end, though, I write my own stories in my own way. The main ingredients being my own imagination flavored by my own unique experiences and a perspective that is wholly me.

Flying in Rows

Murder of Crows

Cawing to Beat the Devil

Black as Night

Blocking the Light

Moving to Next Level