WE BEGIN AGAIN AT THE BEGINNING-PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUS- ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A WRITER

A tourist is walking around Manhattan looking quizzically at a map of the city.  He sees a man walking down the street caring a large black case with a Tuba inside. The tourist stops the musician and asks, (here it comes) "Sir, excuse me but do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?" The musician looks straight at the man and replies, "Sure, practice, practice, practice." (Bah-boom)

Why would I write this old joke? Because the same thing holds true regarding my desire to become a writer. There I was at the beginning of the most miraculous journey of my life with the visions of sitting by the water at sunrise or sunset; I'll go with sunrise because I'm a morning person.

It began one day a couple of years back. I sat down at my computer and typed out 500 words. Within a few weeks, I was up to 1500 words each day. I'm humming along, not a care in the world. Life is beautiful. Before I know it I'm closing in on 50,000 words. WOW, I'm unstoppable.

One day a voice pops into my head. I have another idea for another book so I start typing. Here I am, working on the beginning of a second book while nearing completion of the first. Look out Hemingway; move over world, I'm even ready to tell my boss I won't be coming back to work because, "I BE A WRITER!"  I need a mantle for the Peabody.

I have a dear friend let me stop here for a moment. This is a word of caution. Do not have friends who think you are Hemingway because odds are they are confusing him with Heineken. They don't know what you are doing but they keep telling you that you're great, and the worst part you believe them. The nightmare all writers face is when a stranger says, "It's not bad, but....."

My world came crashing down as if ended. "OH, how could I have been so foolish? How could I believe that I could write? What was I thinking?" The only bright spot, I had not quit my job, which I loathed."
Imagine for a moment that you are standing at the base of a mountain. A tall mountain with a twisty path that you have climbed for weeks, even months, only to discover you have only traveled a few feet. You look up and see the mountain is taller than you thought it was when you began your journey. OMG! You begin to understand why drinking is a writer's best friend.

I remember at the outset I had typed 500 words. Once I forgot to save them. They disappeared but at that time I said, "Who cares I'll just re-write." During my time of hell, I screwed up one paragraph. I thought it would be better if I cut my wrists and just bled out.

The lesson in all of this, practice, practice, practice, eventually it will all come together.

#BE A WRITER,#WRITE A NOVEL,#HOW TO WRITE A BOOK,#ROBERT STEPHEN,#NOVELIST,#TELL A STORY