Starting Out

By Heather Shumaker

We all have the Gift of Time. How will you use it?

I always knew I would write novels, but for years time didn't seem pressing.  I don't have time now; I'll wait until the kids are older.  I don't have enough life wisdom yet; I'll wait until I gain some more.  Novel writing seemed like such a daunting task.  How to find the time and wisdom to start?

Then I stumbled on a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Every artist was first an amateur."

Of course, even the greats had to start somewhere.  The very idea that Emerson and other writers had once been amateurs gave me the inspiration I needed. I would never have enough time.  I would never have enough wisdom.  But I could work with what I had.

I became a starlighter.  I set my alarm for 5:45 am and started my first novel.

What about you?  Are you ready to be a starlighter?

6 responses to “Starting Out”

  1. Ternot says:

    Wonderful advice I will read it often until it sinks in. As Cesar Chavez used to say, "Si se puede."

    • Heather Shumaker says:

      Yes, sometimes we all need a good quote to get us going. Thanks for adding your quote, Ternot.

  2. Ternot says:

    I am having a hard time getting started I am excited about two great projects, a memoir and a history book. I have already started them but I don't seem to be able to continue writing. Am I cursed? I'm so frustrated!

    • Heather Shumaker says:

      When your great ideas are stuck, it can help to have a deadline. If you sign up for a writing class or critique you get the gift of an outside person expecting you to write and giving you a deadline. Or start a writing group - those deadlines work well, too. Best of luck!

  3. Heather, I love your Emerson quote, "Every artist was first an amateur." A friend, who also attended the conference, and I were just talking about that subject. In any creative endeavor, periods of verbal self-flagellation are inevitable. When I was painting, we called it "the Uglies." That term still works in my writing. I force myself to work through it. Writing everyday (with occasional exceptions) is a rule. I put pen to paper, or fingertips to keys for at least an hour. That usually turns into two or four. My mantra is "Just do it." (By the way, I used that term before Niki!)

    • Heather Shumaker says:

      Thanks, Deborah. I found the quote on my Good Earth tea bag. Made it an excellent cup of tea. Really helps to remember that even the greats started out as beginners wondering if they could do this. Keep banishing the "Uglies!"

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