A Writer Has A Lot To Be Thankful For

I wanted to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. Simple. But then the coffee hit my brain and I thought what do I--as a writer--have to be thankful for? Yeah, this could take a minute...

Photo courtesy of Pep Talk Polly, WANA Commons
I published my first work this year. (Just a couple of months ago, in fact.) The nature of the story makes it something I'm not certain would've seen the light of day a few years ago. It's short, but long (a novelette, which is longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella); it's written for/in a category that doesn't exist in some publishing circles (NA); and it's speculative (it crosses over a few genres--paranormal, horror, etc.). Basically, there isn't a shoebox to shove it in.

THANKFULLY, in this day and age I can build my own shoeboxes, and I'm certainly trying. I don't need permission to write and share things, just the desire to do it. 

Writing can be a lonely business. It's difficult to share things after you've created them, and all but impossible to do so as you're creating them. We're those solitary kids in the sandbox, building fragile structures that are always grander in our minds. Try to ask us what we're up to, and we might just shush you and say, "Not so loud! It could fall over any second, and I want see how much I can build before it all goes away."

THANKFULLY, I'm never truly alone. I've met so many other writers online. People who do what I do, and struggle with the things I struggle with. Most of them are quick with an encouraging word when I need picking up, and heap inspiration into my world with the click of  a mouse button. They're my homies--my peeps--and most days, they're all the company I need.

When I tell people I write fiction, a typical response is, "Man, I wish I could do that." My typical response is, "That's funny, because that's exactly how I got started. I wanted to do it." It goes deeper than that, sure, but the idea is a simple one: You must start before you can finish.

I'm THANKFUL every day that I started. Frustration bleeds out my ears at times, sure. Yes, feelings of inadequacy nip at my heels with every success, and damn near swallow me whole with the setbacks. But I'd never know the euphoria of seeing the view from the summit--a finished project--had I not endured the climb.

I've been to Jupiter, and it wasn't all that. I've killed a werewolf--and it was awesome! I saved the world three times last year. Impossible? For most, but not for me...

Writing means you have no boundaries. If it can be considered, it can be done. Good guys can be bad, bad guys can be good, and kids can save the adults. That's the true beauty of creating with words, and I'm THANKFUL for the freedom.

Those are just a few of a long list of things that crossed my mind this morning. What's on your 'thankful writer' list?

Hope you all have the happiest of Thanksgivings, and looking forward to finishing out the year on the other side amongst my many dear blog friends! 

~EJW~





21 comments:

  1. From one peep to another - thankful you are here!
    Have a great Thanksgiving, EJ.

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  2. I'm also thankful for writer friends.

    I'm thankful for technology and the fact that writers don't use typewriters anymore.

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  3. I'm thankful for my writer friends too. Congrats on the NA novel. I think it's an exciting, growing genre. So many good things coming up--maybe even a $13 ebook!

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  4. Such a beautiful post... truly loved this. Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful, EJ! ;-)

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  5. Wonderful post, EJ. Have a great Thanksgiving.

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  6. EJ, I'm thankful for all those things. Have a happy Turkey Day!

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  7. I especially like how you said that as a writer you have no boundaries. There's definitely a sense of freedom in knowing that, especially because in everyday life there are so many rules we have to follow and boundaries that we're not supposed to cross. Writing gives us the courage to break rules.

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  8. I'm Tankful I know how to spiel.


    Hippy Tanksgiving dais :)

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  9. Definitely a lot to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  10. Awesome post. I love it!
    Happy Thanksgiving, EJ. :)

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  11. Sorry, I've been busy counting my blessings and one of them is you!

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  12. True that! Happy (belated but ongoing) Thanksgiving Wesley!

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  13. Great post. While you're occupied with Thanksgiving I'm going to be creating worlds and with just the same abandon destroying same. It doesn't really help my novel much. I just enjoy it.

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  14. I hope you had a great thanksgiving, EJ!

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  15. I love all of this! But, may I say, I especially love the idea of building your own shoebox!

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  16. I'm thankful for writer like you EJ who never tire of inspiring others or offering encouraging words. :)

    Life's about chances and I always think of the Braveheart speech whenever I doubt fighting for what I want. "Fight, and you may die ..."

    Hope you had a fantastic T-Day. I'm still working off my gluttony. lol

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  17. I'm thankful for friends like you, EJ. True, genuine people who don't ever judge me when I've fallen over, but instead encourage me to stand up, brush off, and start anew. Without the moral support, I'd still be able to do the writing thing because I'm driven to do so, but it'd be much lonelier. Thank you for all you do, pal!

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  18. Your comment that you can now build your own shoebox resonated with me because I have been doing that for the past couple of years (self-publishing) and love not having to be validated by an agent via a successful query letter. I am thankful for all the wonderful authors I have met since the beginning of my writing journey. Though writing is a singular activity, the amazing camaraderie that evolves is not.

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“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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