Quotes and Cookies: Impossible to Discourage

"It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write."

~Sinclair Lewis

I like this quote, because I'm in love with the thought of being impervious to discouragement.

BUT

It doesn't totally ring true to me. I like to think of myself as a real writer. But that doesn't mean I'm never going to get discouraged. (I'm not alone in this, right?) The point is, we get past it. In the end, the writing means enough that it doesn't matter what naysayers say! We get over discouragement. We don't let it KEEP us down.

Okay, so maybe one shouldn't mess with a deceased man's quote. But I'm going to anyway, and hope it isn't as offensive as doing a jig on his grave. (If it is, I really apologize, Mr. Lewis. I'll bring flowers to your grave next time I'm near Greenwood Cemetery. And I swear I won't so much as step a foot on your grave.) I think it should say something like "It's impossible for a real writer to STAY discouraged - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write."

So let's raise a cookie and toast to not staying discouraged! (And what says "Discouragement not allowed" better than good ole chocolate chip cookies?)

Photo Credit for Donna's Gourmet Cookies

Have an incredibly fabulous weekend, everyone!

Quotes and Cookies: Choose Hope

"Once we choose hope, everything is possible."

~Christopher Reeve

Quite a fitting quote for the season, no? Yes, we should prepare for the worst. It's what helps us to be prepared for everything, after all. But never forget the HOPE FOR THE BEST part! It's one of the most important parts of all! It's what keeps you going. It's what helps you to do your best. It's what gives you motivation and drive and self-confidence and peace. It's what makes everything possible.

I hope you all have an abundance of HOPE this holiday season. (And, you know, forever after that.)

Photo Credit and Recipe Link: Secret Life of a Chef's Wife

I love you guys! Have a fabulous weekend.

I've Got a Theory: Brain Dudes. Illustrated.

So you know that belief that we only use a portion of our brains? Do you ever wonder why the heck we have brains so large if we don't even use all of them?

I have a theory about that.

Spread out in those unused parts of your brain are miles of corridors. All curvy, of course, because that's just how brains are. And down those corridors are door after door of living quarters for brain dudes. (Don't believe me? Go into those parts of your brain you've never been in before, and you'll see.)

For the most part, the brain dudes live there peacefully. But sometimes they get restless, staring at gray walls and gray matter all day long. Sometimes the monotony gets to them. And, well... Some of them are bad. First the bad ones throw trash in the hallways and before you know it, they're ripping doors off their hinges and banging on the walls. (That's where headaches come from.)

Then there's this one dude. He's extremely charismatic and buff and well.... evil. He riles up all the bad brain dudes and feeds them propaganda for breakfast. He tells them they're in prison! And they shouldn't have to put up with that! They should be able to roam free throughout ALL of the brain, not forced to stay in the unused parts!

And the bad brain dudes are all like "Yeah, we should!"

So the evil leader leads them into battle, and they fight their way into the parts of the brain that you DO use, and THEY ATTACK.

You're all like, "AAAAAAAAAA!!" Because let's face it-- those guys are scary! They've got weapons, angry facial expressions, and a big ole flag they keep waving around like they're trying to spread discouragement and despair throughout your brain with it.

And it works. Those guys really know what they're doing. And they somehow seem to know EXACTLY when to attack. They know when you're most vulnerable.

But do you know what? Those scary dudes aren't the only ones living in those corridors. Miles of them, remember? There are other dudes. Stalwart ones. Brave ones. And they are at the ready anytime you need them. All you have to do is ask.

That is it. You ask, and they show up, flying the banner of Hope and Perseverance. You think the Despair and Discouragement guys are scary? Think of how scary it is to them to see the numberless army backing YOU.

(And when your numberless army shows up, they bang those spears on the ground in unison and rhythmically. To you, it goes in time to your heartbeat, making you feel invincible. (Plus it sounds cool.) To them, it's a deafening battle cry that makes them cower under their skinny little stick arms.)

Sometimes, though, when Despair and Discouragement shows up, it can petrify you. Sometimes it takes a family member, friend, or complete stranger to summon them for you. BUT THE UNBEATABLE ARMY OF HOPE AND PERSEVERANCE ARE THERE, AND THEY WILL COME.

Always.

You know... As long as you don't forget they're there, hanging out in the living quarters of the unused portions of your brain.



P.S. I know that most people will tell you that the we-only-use-part-of-our-brain theory is bunk, but I don't want to hear it because it doesn't support MY theory. And like the sign hanging in my dad's office says, "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts."

When Insanity Works

I once heard insanity defined as this:

Insanity is when you do the same thing over and over, and expect different results each time.

Which, if you think about it, is a pretty good definition. Most people would agree if you put a piece of bread in a toaster set to 5 and it burned it, you’d get exactly the same results if you put another piece of bread in a toaster set to 5, right? To expect that it wouldn’t burn the second time (or the third or fourth or twentieth) would be.... well, insane.

Based on this, I have come to an undeniable conclusion:


Writers Are Insane.

Now come on. That doesn’t really surprise you, right? I’m sure we’ve all thought “What am I, insane?” more than once. After all, we beg voices in our heads to talk with us! And then we act like they're real people! And then we torture them!

But face it. When it comes to querying, THAT’S when we really fit the definition of insane.

We research yet another agent, decide this agent is our PERFECT MATCH, and send out a query. We fully expect them to read it, email back within minutes saying they can’t live another second without seeing pages, that they must have the full to find out what happens next before they die, and that they must be our agent.

And when we get a no to our query or our pages or our manuscript, we start all over again. We research again, find the agent that is THE PERFECT MATCH...  and once again, we expect different results.
 

Insane, right?

Except it’s not. In fact, as writers we don’t even refer to it as insanity, we refer to it as PERSISTENCE.

And that little thing that makes us believe that THIS TIME it’ll be different? That’s called hope. Ironically, it’s also what keeps us SANE.

So anyone outside of the writing world? Go ahead and call us insane! We just happen to be masters at internal editing, and we’ll automatically replace the word with persistent. Because we’re cool like that.
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