A good writer is basically a story teller, not a scholar or a redeemer of mankind.
Polish-American novelist, short story writer, and Nobel Prize laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer, was born on this day in 1902 (died 1991).
And, that’s where I think I am with this whole writing thing.
I’m not going to develop a formula to get a bazillion daily readers, or develop an online class, or series of webinars, or sell you the fool-proof method of writing and publishing your book in 43 second, for today’s only price of $199.
Instead, I want to be here to tell stories.
Granted, that means that my goal of being a profitable full-time writer may be a bit further off.
Unless I can come up with some really good stories.
Work with me.
As I said yesterday, thank you for being here.
And thank you for sticking around when sometimes all I’m doing is telling the stories of my somewhat complicated, somewhat jumbled life.
Allow me a minute of personal privilege, or vanity if you must, but I think that’s what I do best.
I get the most responses when I talk about my life, about the struggles and the triumphs. About the health challenges, and writing challenges, and the oh-my-word-I’m-not-going-to-post-about-politics challenges.
The struggle is real.
So, here we are in the week of giving thanks, and I have a lot to be thankful for.
Oh sure, I have my challenges. But what I’ve learned over these past…gulp…almost sixty years is that everyone has challenges. The rich, the poor. The old, the young. The healthy, the frail. The Republicans, and the people who used to be Republicans.
Sorry, I got distracted there.
Life can be grand, but it isn’t easy. If you’re a follower of Jesus you know that this isn’t home and it’s not supposed to be easy.
Still, we have a tendency to focus on our own problems and sometimes discount the fact that there are others struggling around us.
You’re reading this. Your struggles are different than mine. But I refuse to believe you don’t have any struggles.
Will it make me rich? Not likely. Although there’s something to be said about storing up treasures in Heaven (look up the reference, it will do you good).
I don’t fault those who are out there selling their webinars and writing systems. I’m just not sure they can deliver what they promise. Or maybe I just don’t need what they can deliver.
I write because I’m a writer. Not just for the selling of my words. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t snark at good paying assignments.
I’d just rather tell stories.
I didn’t try Nanowrimo this year, but the Facebook “On this Day” feature reminded me that I did last year, and that I finished fairly early. But I couldn’t remember what I wrote.
I opened up the file and realized that, while it needs a great deal of work, I’d written a pretty darned good story…but one that needs a lot of editing.
I’ll get right on it just after things are resolved with the script, and I get the other novel finished. You know the one I
The stories are good. And I’m enjoying telling them.
I’ll work on coming up with some better stories for you here.
Maybe, just maybe, instead of my trying to be a voice of reason in an unreasonable world, maybe my stories are just supposed to be a bit of refuge, a distraction. Something to take us all away from the ugliness of our newsfeeds.
I realize that I’ve just issued myself a huge challenge.
I’ll do my best.
In other news, American actress and singer, Lorna Luft, daughter of Judy Garland, was born on this day in 1952. I saw her on stage in Guys and Dolls at the Kennedy Center back in the early 1990s.