So here I am, sitting at my tiny desk typing out my newest blog as the exact same sun that not so long ago shone down on me in Maui now shines down on me through my Edmonton, Alberta window. The only problem is that the temperature I'm now surrounded by is a good 45 degrees colder.
Ouch.
So, what have I learn during my time away? What did I take back with me? What inspirations flooded my cranium so that I might tap into them and apply them to my writing? I'm sorry to say that no new ideas revealed themselves. No new characters rose up from the ashes of my imagination. And no resolutions of specific writer’s block or unfinished endings materialized. So, what then?
Hard work yields much. Perseverance is the key to success.
It's what my grandmother always modeled to me, and it's the exact same lesson I witnessed while vacationing in Hawai'i. That’s right; I vacationed in Maui, and all I got was a stupid life lesson. Of course I’m kidding—about it being stupid, not about experiencing a life lesson.
My family’s vacation to the beautiful Aloha State was only possible thanks to the generosity of my father-in-law. Not only does he own a condo in Kihei, he paid for all six of us to fly down and stay with him! Do the math. That’s beyond generous. That’s…beyond words. It’s what lifelong memories are made of, and it was all because of my father-in-law’s tireless effort and hard work throughout the years that provided him with the means to be able to afford a Hawaiian condo and fly his family down for the holidays.
I found myself sitting out on his patio one glorious evening admiring what he had accomplished in his relatively young life. I wasn’t jealous or envious, I was truly inspired by all the physical evidence that surrounded me telling me what hard work and sacrifice can yield. Then I pondered what might be if I were to ever apply myself to my writing as tirelessly as my father-in-law has with his work. I’m certain I’d yield some great things.
So, just when I think that I shouldn’t keep on keeping on with my writing or that I’m not good enough, I get a tropical jolt right in the chops shaking me out of my stupor and back to reality. And what reality is that, you ask? Simple: nose to the grindstone; hard work yields much fruit. I’ll close with an appropriate quote that fits this theme perfectly: "I’m a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." ~ Thomas Jefferson.
It’s good to be back. Keep writing all you indie-authors out there, and never give up!
Cheers.