We are writers. We all need support. (Maybe Erynn more than others right now because of her pregnancy...just kidding Erynn! haha. I loathed anyone who even suggested I needed support hose when pregnant. I was like, seriously, I'm this uncomfortable already, my feet are swollen to the size of watermelons and you're suggesting I vice up my legs? No thanks!!)
Anyway, I digress.
We need support. From fellow writers, from our friends, from our family, and from our spouses/significant others.
Do you get the support you need?
I remember when I attended my first writers conference. I was 18, and it was in Texas at a ClassServices conference. It was nonfiction writing and speaking focused, but author Gayle Roper taught a small fiction class for those interested, on the side. I gobbled up her every word and we really connected during that class. She's actually the one who introduced me to the ACFW and has cheered me on along the way in my career. But that weekend, I remember Gayle telling me that it was going to take a special man to support someone like me, someone with the dreams I had, someone willing to stand in the background and be a silent partner while the spotlight of my career eventually shone only on me.
Thankfully, I found that man.
But I know a lot of other writers don't get the support they crave from their family. So what do they do? They turn to their friends, hopefully, and other writers. No one understands us like a fellow mutant speciman... I mean, writer. :)
So build your support system. Follow blogs of writers and build relationships with them. (us!) Join book clubs in your town, join writer's loops online (like the ACFW! www.acfw.com) and make an effort to be a part. If you immerse yourself with other writers and get that support, you will have the strong foundation you need on the days you feel like cracking! It's too easy to get depressed and tempted to quit when we feel all alone in our efforts. Find those writing accountability partners and get to writing. KEEP writing.
And if your hubby or boyfriend or wife or girlfriend or family doesn't really understand, that's okay. Give them a break. You might not love their hobby of motorcycles or rock climbing or stamp collecting or sock sorting, but you love THEM. And they love you.
Time will prove to them your dedication to this "hobby" - that really isn't a hobby to most writers anyway. It's a calling, a commitment, a desire that must be fulfilled just like breathing or eating or drinking.
So eat. Drink. Breathe.
And for heaven's sake stay away from the pantyhose!
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I haven't worn pantyhose for so long, I forgot what they feel like.
ReplyDeleteOh wait...yep, not going back.
Support is crucial to a writer's life. We need it and thrive on it. Sometimes we succeed only because of it.
My DH has been a sideline supporter for years. Not much of a cheerleader, not much interest. Just a casual, "How's it going?" every once in a while.
Yet he was instrumental in me picking up my agent. One Saturday morning he asked what my plans were. I said I wanted to submit a few queries. In my head I'd been saying that for almost a year and had never done it.
He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, slapped the top and said, "Well, come on. Let's get it done."
He sat by me the whole time while I revised my queries and made sure I pushed send.
That meant the world to me. Especially once I nabbed the interest of an agent...
My legs were encased in pantyhose six days a week (christian school/church) for the first eighteen years of my life. I'm happy to say that the only time I've worn them since was on my wedding day!
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who supports me fully. Now if only I could believe in myself as much!