Never Give Up - Never, Never Give Up.

How many times as a writer do we just toss in the towel and walk away. We think “Nobody is going to look at my blog,” or “How can anybody even hear me, above a thousand voices?” I tell you, don’t give up.

My daughter was a big inspiration to me: when she was in school, her teacher told her not to be her worst critic. She would come home, and I would be writing or painting or playing music, and I would be saying “I am no good, I should just quit.” 

My daughter would put her hand on my shoulder and say, “Daddy, don’t be your worst critic.”

Well, I have to say, the criticism I have given my self has caused me to cap my pen, put my paints away and fold my music stand. I gave up on it all - why, because I didn’t think I was good enough.

Back in 2004, I was challenged by a co-worker to write a short story. He did not think I could write a short story in 24 hours. I came up with a story line, composed the story on my way home, sat down at my computer and wrote a 4800 word short story. Printed it out and took it to him the next day. I just wanted to prove him wrong, but it created a spark.

Two years later, I picked that story back up, and turned it into a novel. I worked really hard on the novel, and then I self-published it. I was in love with the book, and I had dreams of making it big as a novelist.  However, my book never sold. People I let read the book gave me feedback of: “Wow, you should donate this to a sleep center, because it could cure insomnia,” and “So did your third grader write this, you must be so proud.”

I was crushed. My book, my baby was being scorned. I was not going to be deterred, my first book was not well accepted, but I will try again. So I wrote more,(not publishing of course) and nothing ever was accepted. I then capped my pen, and decided to never write again. I gave up!

I tried again to write after I had brain surgery. What brought me back? Well I love writing, and I missed it. I never publicized the blog, so once again - I capped my pen. But I still missed writing. 

This last time, after taking test after test, I was pointed to writing and storytelling. So I started up again. This time, I have had over a thousand page views in a month (BTW Thanks for that), and I feel encouraged. I have also started another book - with my wife’s insistence, but the most important thing to remember – mistakes are learning opportunities; learning from your missteps in the past, will help you avoid them in the future.

I guess what I am saying is: We are artists, we do ink play, we paint with words, invoking thoughts are our canvas and words are powerful. We need to do what we do best, and when you stop; you silence your own voice. 

Quit smoking, quit doing drugs, quit drinking, quit bad relationships and bad jobs, but don’t quit writing. Never give up! Never, never give up your voice. 

Build a valuable netword

When I was in Kindergarten, my mother worked at a resort with a swimming pool. My father wanted to teach me how to swim, so he was treading water in the deep end of the pool, and I was to jump off the diving board to my father. I can remember distinctly how scared I felt, and then my dad said something that gave me the nudge I needed, but terrified me to the core. He said, “Jump.” 

Creating a network and even writing a blog can be terrifying; we might feel a little exposed. I am sitting here in the deep end, and I am telling you “Jump.”

When the Internet was in its infancy, I was working at a print shop. There was this group of people that my boss would meet with every week. It was a networking consortium of sorts that would pass business off to each other. My boss had to pay $150.00 a month for this networking group; I thought it was great, because I would go and get lunch out of the deal, but the most important aspect of the group - we got business.

The purpose of networking is to expand your voice. When you get with likeminded individuals you can bounce ideas off of each other, create bonds with people and get helpful insights. However you must be open to constructive criticism, as well as be open to giving constructive criticism. 

A good network partner will give you constructive criticism, because they want you to get better, consequently, you should want members of your network to get better, so if you have constructive criticism, you should share. 

Let me warn you however, don’t dress down your friend in front of their community. If there is something that is a flagrant misuse of the English language, or an error in formatting, or you fact checked a blog and found it in error, and it might embarrass them in any way - comment to them privately, don’t ruin your own community by being that Jackwagon that points out everyone’s faults - don’t be mean; people will start pointing out your faults.

One of the best way for us as bloggers to develop our valuable network, is to search out other blogs, and sign into their mailing list, make a comment, and then ask them to look at your blog. However this requires you to start the conversation. Make reading other’s blogs an important part of your day. 

As a personal note I try to make at least one contact a day, but I recognize I need to do more, and so I need to make a goal, and stick with it.

Now when I say build a valuable network, this is more than just a regular network. What I mean is this: If you are a blogger that focuses on Politics, a valuable network partner might not be one who is a fashion blogger; conversely if you are a fashion blogger will you find anything really interesting in the blogs of a writer in politics. I am not saying they will not be important to you, and that you will not find anything interesting in each other’s blogs: I am saying don’t make your entire valuable network something other than your blog focus.  As a blogger, you are your own brand - that brand is either strengthened or weakened by your network.