Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. “At this time of the rolling year,” as our great storytelling mentor Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, gratitude feels obligatory, or maybe just appropriate, if you are more comfortable with that.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Which got me thinking about what we, as writers specifically, might list in our thankfulness inventory. So, I posted an internet query under the heading “Writing Life Gratitude.” The responses have made me very grateful indeed.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Most prominently, we are grateful for one another. “Critique partners who give me their honest opinions and encouragement when I make mistakes,” says Kayelle Allen. Ruth Casie adds, “Writing partners who enrich my life with their friendship, caring and great brainstorming ideas.”
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Each of us can reflect on a history of helpers: other writers who may themselves suffer through dark passages of career disaster, crippling self-doubt, or personal life turmoil. Nonetheless, they reach out to urge us back toward the light. Roni Denholtz, Marcia James, D.V. Stone and Jennifer Wilck echo the rest of us in saying, “Thank you all so much for that.”
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Joan Ramirez is grateful for “a loving husband who shares my enthusiasm for my novel writing career” and is her best friend as well. Several others, including myself, mention family, including grandchildren. Writing may be a solitary pursuit, but we are definitely not alone.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. And who isn’t thankful for readers? “All the readers who’ve stuck with me for so many years and keep buying my new books,” says Meredith Bond, while Marcia James reminds us to thank the Beta readers who help us hone our work, and I feel personally in debt to readers who make the effort to review what we write.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. I was moved by those of us – Connie Bretes, Paul Lima, Nancy Morse – who shared their struggles through serious health problems, and somehow found the will and stamina to keep on working, or to get back to the writing desk eventually.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Jean Brashear, Marie Force, Joan Peck and Livia Quinn spoke of the 60 Minutes story of Tim Green’s battle with ALS. “How dare I ever falter for a second,” Jean says, in the face of such inspiring courage.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. My own heart was hard-struck by the inspiration of one of our own, Susan Meier. “This year, every inch of my life, including my career, was tested when my son died in January,” Susan says, and thanks RWA and her sister chapters for their support. At the time of her loss, she had a manuscript due, and her publishers and editors helped her through when she insisted she must work on toward deadline. We are also with you, Susan.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. The greatest number of responses to my Writing Life Gratitude question were about being thankful for the opportunity to write in the first place. “To fill my hours with writing, and for the wonderful characters that keep me company,” says Carol Roddy aka Caroline Warfield. “To start with an idea and end with a published book,” says Joan Peck. Dee Knight speaks of her latest book, which “languished unfinished for years,” and now is completed at last.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. The ultimate joy of writing is summed up beautifully by Elizabeth Tarry-Crowe. “I’m grateful that, after years of writing, I still strive to get better, shoot higher, try harder,” and Lisabet Sarai agrees. Whatever life and career setbacks confront us, we do what we can and must to heal, then we forge forward again.
Gratitude Attitude Writer’s Style. Finally, as in the beginning, we are together. “I’m grateful for my writing friends….” Alice Valdal says. “The writing world is so different from the one I first joined, but writers willing to share and laugh and cry and encourage and keep trying are still there. For that I am grateful.” Me too! Happy holidays.
Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com
– R|R –
Readers recommend Alice’s latest novel. A Time of Fear & Loving – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Book 5. Available HERE.
Praise for A Time of Fear & Loving. “Alice Orr is the queen of ramped-up stakes and page-turning suspense.” “Warning. Don’t read before bed. You won’t want to sleep.” “The tension in this novel is through the roof.” “I never want an Alice Orr book to end.” “The best one yet!” “Budding romance sizzles in the background until it ignites with passion.”
A Wrong Way Home – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Book 1 – is a FREE Kindle eBook HERE. “Danger & romance explode in a red-hot read.” Look for all of Alice’s books HERE.
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Being a writer sometimes feels like a curse… but you’ve reminded me it’s a great blessing! Thanks for sharing.
Dear Lisabet. I am so sorry for leaving your kind words so long unanswered. Like many things, writing has an up side and a down as well. I think we may be best blessed by its power to transport us across landscapes and universes, and even out of the sometimes tedious terrain of our own lives. We are fortunate to be able to partake of that gift. Meanwhile, I hope you have a glorious day. Love and Blessings. Alice
I’m grateful for a wonderful year that saw the realization of dreams and the hope of new ones. Thank you for using my quote, Alice 🙂
Hi, Alice! It was wonderful reading your Gratitude Attitude blog post, and I appreciate being included in it. It’s amazing how authors and readers can do so much to support each other way past just writing and reading books. I am grateful for all of my author friends, my Beta readers/critique partners, and my readers for being there for me through good times and bad. Wishing you and all of your family and friends a wonderful holiday and a great 2019!
Hi Marcia. Because I am sometimes a dolt where electronics are concerned, I just saw your message for the first time. Yes. The entire experience of doing the Gratitude Attitude piece was wonderful. The things you authors said. The anecdotes you told. How many were involved. It was the holiday spirit writer style for me. Thank you for participating. Thank you for recognizing the reader connection and honoring it. We did have a good holiday season here. I hope it was the same with you and that 2019 will be stellar for everybody. Love and Blessings. Alice
Dear Marcia. You have commented on my blog posts in the past. I invite you to explore my most recent series. It is titled “Oh No I’m a Caregiver – Dementia – Our Cautionary Story.” These posts are of special significance to me. Dementia appears to be a reality destined to assault all of our lives in one way or another eventually. I believe that the story I have to tell – through my initial post and others yet to come at https://www.aliceorrbooks.com – has valuable insights to offer. For this reason, I hope you will read it and pass it on to others so that they might benefit from what I am learning and from those insights.
For example… My husband Jonathan, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia, is actually quite fine at this early stage. He is engaged in lots of cognitively powerful activities. He writes original memoir pieces that are very good and says this is the result of sitting in on so many of my writing workshops over the past forty-five years. He now finds more joy in writing than the drawing and music that were his usual creative pursuits in the past. This is good because, as you know, portraying characters and composing scenes require a deep level of focus and detail concentration which is very beneficial for him. He also loves jigsaw puzzling – the 1500-piece variety. Again much concentration is required plus he has fond memory associations of doing puzzles with his mom when he was a boy. He also reads a lot – challenging books, as well as his favorite New York Times articles. He does regular physical exercise and has also begun gardening at our church which has a large planted space in sore need of attention. Medically, he is taking a basic drug that has disappeared his brain fog for the timebeing. We also have excellent medical professionals on our team and on our side.
Dementia is not like the tv commercials portray it to be. Their purpose is to ramp up fear and sell very expensive, very dangerous drugs. There is a long, gradual period before extreme changes begin, and the aggressiveness these ads emphasize can often be mitigated with simple mood medications that are harmless and affordable.
Meanwhile, there is a real-life story to be told here of real-life experience. I hope you will read and share it. Dementia is a reality for many of us and, unfortunately, promises to be a reality for many more. Truth is our best armor against being cast into despair by the prospect. I hope to add a little to that sustaining truth. Dementia is one of the many ways all of us will evolve from this life into whatever may lay beyond. Passing on is our universal destiny. Some of those passages involve discomfort and unpleasantness. We can perhaps be a bit better prepared if we understand realistically what to expect.
That is what our story – Jonathan’s and mine – is meant to do. Help others – in an honest and caring fashion – to be prepared. Love and Blessings. Alice
Thank you, Alice, for giving us the opportunity to express our gratitude.
Hi Nancy. Please forgive me for screwing up and not seeing your comment until now. I was so grateful to all of you for responding with warmth and caring to my query about Gratitude Attitude. It was such a touching experience I may come up with another holiday spirited question and do it again next year. I hope you are having a glorious 2019, and that spring will arrive for all of us soon. Love and Blessings. Alice
Dear Nancy. You have commented on my blog posts in the past. I invite you to explore my most recent series. It is titled “Oh No I’m a Caregiver – Dementia – Our Cautionary Story.” These posts are of special significance to me. Dementia appears to be a reality destined to assault all of our lives in one way or another eventually. I believe that the story I have to tell – through my initial post and others yet to come at https://www.aliceorrbooks.com – has valuable insights to offer. For this reason, I hope you will read it and pass it on to others so that they might benefit from what I am learning and from those insights.
For example… My husband Jonathan, who has recently been diagnosed with dementia, is actually quite fine at this early stage. He is engaged in lots of cognitively powerful activities. He writes original memoir pieces that are very good and says this is the result of sitting in on so many of my writing workshops over the past forty-five years. He now finds more joy in writing than the drawing and music that were his usual creative pursuits in the past. This is good because, as you know, portraying characters and composing scenes require a deep level of focus and detail concentration which is very beneficial for him. He also loves jigsaw puzzling – the 1500-piece variety. Again much concentration is required plus he has fond memory associations of doing puzzles with his mom when he was a boy. He also reads a lot – challenging books, as well as his favorite New York Times articles. He does regular physical exercise and has also begun gardening at our church which has a large planted space in sore need of attention. Medically, he is taking a basic drug that has disappeared his brain fog for the timebeing. We also have excellent medical professionals on our team and on our side.
Dementia is not like the tv commercials portray it to be. Their purpose is to ramp up fear and sell very expensive, very dangerous drugs. There is a long, gradual period before extreme changes begin, and the aggressiveness these ads emphasize can often be mitigated with simple mood medications that are harmless and affordable.
Meanwhile, there is a real-life story to be told here of real-life experience. I hope you will read and share it. Dementia is a reality for many of us and, unfortunately, promises to be a reality for many more. Truth is our best armor against being cast into despair by the prospect. I hope to add a little to that sustaining truth. Dementia is one of the many ways all of us will evolve from this life into whatever may lay beyond. Passing on is our universal destiny. Some of those passages involve discomfort and unpleasantness. We can perhaps be a bit better prepared if we understand realistically what to expect.
That is what our story – Jonathan’s and mine – is meant to do. Help others – in an honest and caring fashion – to be prepared. Love and Blessings. Alice
Filled with gratitude reading this! DITTO, DITTO, DITTO! So much to be grateful for. Thanks, Alice!