Friday Five: Hope
A reader contacted me recently to tell me how much she enjoyed Breathing. It's always such a thrill to hear that the words I put down on a piece of notebook paper affected someone, moved them, inspired them. I consider it an incredible gift when I receive those kind notes. This particular reader asked about writing advice. I visited her blog and read her post about hope and how important hope is to her, how much she loves books that end, not necessarily in a happily-ever-after kind of way, but in a way that leaves readers feeling hopeful for the story and for their own lives. So today's Friday Five is about hope. Some of it is in reference to writing, but all of it is in reference to living.
1. If you're an aspiring writer and you haven't read Ralph Keyes' The Writer's Book of Hope, I highly recommend it. It's full of wisdom and good ideas and lots of surprises about some of the best known and best loved writers and how they struggled on the path to get there. He quotes literary agent Jeff Herman, saying "No rejection is fatal until the writer walks away from the battle leaving dreams and goals behind." (p.67)
2. Keyes also notes that "the capacity to rewrite is what distinguishes productive writers from unproductive ones." (p.51) He quotes Theodore Solotaroff as saying "The gifted young writer has to learn that his main task is to persist." (p.48)
3. On my fridge I have a quote posted, I don't know who said it but it goes like this, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail." Fear of failure can stop the bravest of heroes. Don't let it stop you. A friend once gave me this one: "Face your fear and watch it disappear."
4. Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach is one of those books I re-read from time to time, always finding something new between its pages. Jonathon is a seagull who yearns to fly free not just for the sake of finding food but for its own sake. He separates himself from his flock and learns to fly in ways they never dreamed of. He tries to teach the other gulls. One gull with a broken wing says he can't because of his disability. Jonathon says to him, "You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way." The wounded gull asks, "Are you saying I can fly?" And Jonathon replies, "I say you are free." I have always found great inspiration in that moment.
5. And one last quote from Jonathon Livingston Seagull: "To fly as fast as thought to anywhere that is... you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived." When I was younger I was intrigued by that idea but couldn't grasp what it meant. Here's what it means. Whatever you dream of doing or being, you have to believe in the possiblity of that happening, you have to see it in your mind's eye, know that you CAN make it happen. You have to feel inside the feelings you will feel when you get there, so that in spirit you're already there. Then work towards the goal and it's just a matter of time before your body catches up. If you're a Harry Potter fan, think of the scene when he's able to conjure a patronus charm because he saw a time-traveling version of himself produce it. The power of knowing he'd done it made him able to do it.
Those are my thoughts on hope for today. Keep on dreaming!
And tune in on Tuesday for our next installment on authors, mood, and writing.
Happy weekend!
1. If you're an aspiring writer and you haven't read Ralph Keyes' The Writer's Book of Hope, I highly recommend it. It's full of wisdom and good ideas and lots of surprises about some of the best known and best loved writers and how they struggled on the path to get there. He quotes literary agent Jeff Herman, saying "No rejection is fatal until the writer walks away from the battle leaving dreams and goals behind." (p.67)
2. Keyes also notes that "the capacity to rewrite is what distinguishes productive writers from unproductive ones." (p.51) He quotes Theodore Solotaroff as saying "The gifted young writer has to learn that his main task is to persist." (p.48)
3. On my fridge I have a quote posted, I don't know who said it but it goes like this, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail." Fear of failure can stop the bravest of heroes. Don't let it stop you. A friend once gave me this one: "Face your fear and watch it disappear."
4. Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach is one of those books I re-read from time to time, always finding something new between its pages. Jonathon is a seagull who yearns to fly free not just for the sake of finding food but for its own sake. He separates himself from his flock and learns to fly in ways they never dreamed of. He tries to teach the other gulls. One gull with a broken wing says he can't because of his disability. Jonathon says to him, "You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way." The wounded gull asks, "Are you saying I can fly?" And Jonathon replies, "I say you are free." I have always found great inspiration in that moment.
5. And one last quote from Jonathon Livingston Seagull: "To fly as fast as thought to anywhere that is... you must begin by knowing that you have already arrived." When I was younger I was intrigued by that idea but couldn't grasp what it meant. Here's what it means. Whatever you dream of doing or being, you have to believe in the possiblity of that happening, you have to see it in your mind's eye, know that you CAN make it happen. You have to feel inside the feelings you will feel when you get there, so that in spirit you're already there. Then work towards the goal and it's just a matter of time before your body catches up. If you're a Harry Potter fan, think of the scene when he's able to conjure a patronus charm because he saw a time-traveling version of himself produce it. The power of knowing he'd done it made him able to do it.
Those are my thoughts on hope for today. Keep on dreaming!
And tune in on Tuesday for our next installment on authors, mood, and writing.
Happy weekend!
Posted by Cheryl at 2/5/2010 2:05 PM 
Categories: life; inspiration; writing
Tags: life; inspiration; writing
Categories: life; inspiration; writing
Tags: life; inspiration; writing
I love the blog! You're an amazing writer-thank you for teaching me to always follow my dreams!
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Aww, thank you, Hannah! Dare to dream
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What a very inspiring post. So, just dare to dream for one day you will be able to make all that dream come true. And that one day will soon be seen.
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