Today, I’m honored to be hosting Solstice romance author, Marie Lavender!
A Writer’s Shortsightedness
Life is full of pressures. We tally up all these tasks in our heads of all the things we have to do each day. Our culture is full of conveniences, whether they are food or banking or even communication. But, everything is still very hectic. Don’t you feel like you never get a break? How often do we slow down and take stock of what we have? And I’m not just talking about being grateful for the little things or your family. You should do that, of course.
But, how often do you stand back and look at all you’ve accomplished? And this can, of course, apply to anyone who is not a writer, but for the purpose of this article, I will speak from a writer’s perspective. So, back to topic.
Do you ever look around at what you’ve done? Do you pat yourself on the back for it, for all the hard work you’ve done or all you’ve attained? Probably not. I don’t either. But, maybe we should. You may think that is silly or even arrogant, but I think it can go a long way in how we view ourselves as writers, or even as human beings.
Do you have published books? Either traditionally published or self-published, are they on display for the world to see? Are they sitting on a shelf, or casually thrown here and there? In lieu of that, do you have works in progress, so many stories or even poems started that you don’t know what to do with them all?
Well, that’s good. Because I want you to look at them now. Make sure they are in a place where you can view them all together. Stand back and bask in this moment. What moment? The moment you acknowledge your own accomplishments.
Forget your list of things to do. Forget that part-time or full time job you’ve kept to pay the bills. Forget, just for a moment, the demands of family life. Take a deep breath and observe the wonderful world of your creation.
You may ask why I suggest this. Here is the truth. How often do we acknowledge ourselves? Every person knows that his own worst critic is himself. We are so quick to see the accomplishments of others, of friends or family, but never in ourselves. Think about how easy it is to give a compliment or congratulate someone, but when they do the same for us, it feels strange. So we should take that moment to be proud of our own work.
Life is so demanding. If you never notice your own accomplishments, that self-doubt can eat away at your confidence eventually. It can affect you and if there’s ever a general truth in writing, it’s that we write from our experiences. Even if you don’t write about your personal life, you know that your impressions will come out on the page somewhere.
So just breathe with me. Look at your pile of published books, computer files or even notebooks. Wow, writer. You’ve accomplished a LOT. Don’t you feel proud of yourself? You should. Enjoy this moment if you can. Your heart will thank you for it.
Author Bio:
Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and three cats. She has been writing for over twenty years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands.
At the tender age of nine, she began writing stories. Her imagination fueled a lot of her early child’s play. Even growing up, she entered writing contests and received a certificate for achieving the second round in one. She majored in Creative Writing in college because that was all she ever wanted – to be a writer. While there, she published two works in a university publication, and was a copy editor on the staff of an online student journal. After graduating from college, she sought out her dream to publish a book.
Since then, Marie has published sixteen books. Marie Lavender’s real love is writing romances, but she has also written mysteries, literary fiction and dabbled a little in paranormal stories. Most of her works have a romantic element involved in them. Upon Your Return is her first historical romance novel. Feel free to visit her website at http://marielavender.webs.com/ for further information about her books and her life. Marie is also on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
A list of her books and pen names are as follows:
Marie Lavender: Upon Your Return
Erica Sutherhome: Hard to Get; Memories; A Hint of Scandal; Without You; Strange Heat; Terror in the Night; Haunted; Pursuit; Perfect Game; A Touch of Dawn; Ransom
Kathryn Layne: A Misplaced Life
Heather Crouse: Express Café and Other Ramblings; Ramblings, Musings and Other Things; Soulful Ramblings and Other Worldly Things
Author Links: http://www.marielavender.webs.com/
http://marielavenderbooks.blogspot.com/
http://marielavender.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MarieAnnLavender
https://twitter.com/marielavender1
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?trk=hb_tab_pro_top&id=92992474
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938764.Marie_Lavender
Book Blurb:
Fara Bellamont has been back in society for a year after leaving Cluny Abbey, where her uncle sent her long ago. When he chooses a suitor for her for marriage, she fears that she will be forced to marry a stranger and live a miserable life. But, Fara finds herself thrust into an adventure of a lifetime when unforeseen circumstances cause her to place her trust in a strange man for protection. His intervention not only saves her, but puts her in an even more compromising position. Grant Hill, a trading captain, is enchanted by the young heiress not only because of her beauty, but because she is hardly conventional. Underneath her ladylike exterior lies a tigress. Grant cannot help but offer his protection as she is in need and he is far from immune from her charms. Fara just never bargained on the passion that she feels for Grant Hill. As events unfold, she must decide whether her desires and the dictates of her heart should trump the rules of society…
Buy Links: http://www.amazon.com/Upon-Your-Return-ebook/dp/B00BFX8YLI/
http://store.solsticepublishing.com/upon-your-return/
https://www.createspace.com/4284739
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/upon-your-return-marie-lavender/1115291084
K. M. Warfield 
How does a writer know if they’re work was worth the time unless someone tells them. You’re right we should let other people know when we appreciate their work, we can always find something good to say. Then too, we should allow ourselves to not be so critical of ourselves and just know that we are doing something that been done from the beginning of time. We’re not forced to write, we do it because we’re driven in one way or another to do just that. I’m looking forward to reading Upon Your Return. 🙂
Just when I needed some inspiration and fortitude–and yes, even a little “pride.” Thank you, Marie Lavender.
I love this post! My framed book covers are right this minute stored in a closet. And until I learned of the innovation of ereaders, I did not give a thought to having achieved the status of published author. Not once! Reviving my writing career or bringing my books to the Cyber universe of ebooks is a learning curve–and another achievement, especially so because I am so technology challenged. Once I considered giving my novels new life–I had to order them used from ebay and Amazon third party vendors. I didn’t own a single one of my novels. I’d given or loaned them away. Marie’s post really speaks to me.
Interesting stuff!
Thank you for your lovely comments!