Keeping The Passion

Happy Wednesday!

It's beautiful and sunny right now. As I sit by a large window, my heart is content. I love days like this. I love summer, basically.

Today I'm embarking on a particularly fun quest. As some of you know by my tweet, yesterday I was backing up all my word docs I've ever had in my life. It's well over 300 and I'd say more than half are beginnings of novels, false-starts, half-finished projects, and ideas.

Aside from being really fun, I'm hoping to gain something useful out of this venture. Like, a story, for example. Maybe a story idea I wrote back in the day. Before it was about publication and having the next Awesome Story. While thinking about that, I figured it would make a good blog post.

Think about when you started writing. If you're anything like me, it was a while ago, and you did it for fun. You did it because you wanted to tell stories. (It's okay if that's not you... you still began somewhere because wanted to write, yes?) Think about your first ideas. Who inspired them, or what inspired them. How you thought (and might still think) they were the coolest ever, and how you believed you could do it.

Okay, maybe that's not you at all. But I think most writers have a kind of honeymoon, usually when they first start, where it's all about the story, and the act of writing it out. A time when it's fun and it's an experiment. Everything you try is something new for YOU, because you're only just starting.

I think that kind of thinking and that attitude open doors for inspiration. You get things done. They're not perfect, but you're thinking! There's no pressure about what's been done or what's not acceptable. You haven't learned that yet. You're just writing and you love it.

It's that passion, I think, that is at the root of some of the best books out there. When you're writing because you want to. Writing because the possibilities are endless. Writing because you must. How can you not be successful?

As I remind myself today, I hope to remind you too. Keep the passion in your writing. 

Sure, it might be about publication. You might have your dreams to become a vet riding on your book deal, like my friend Mad. You might be like me with colorful visions of your book on NYT bestseller list, and of your stories making it to the movie screens in theaters around the world.

However, it never hurts to lift the pressure. Write and enjoy it. Stay passionate. Keep dreaming.

That's all I have.

Best Part of Today: A cup of green tea.
Currently Craving: A brownie.
Music Pick: "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy
WATM: Sovereignty (drafting)