“A dream written down becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action becomes reality. Today my goal for the past 4 years, well 5, thanks to COVID becomes a reality!…” Leanne Smith
Leanne Smith represented the U.S. in the breaststroke at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo. Smith who suffers from dystonia (a neurological muscle disease that causes painful and uncontrollable muscle spasms) is one heck of a planner and competitor. When I read what she wrote about making it down the path to the big games, I was so impressed that I copied her words and tried to put them into my own context as a writer.
As I wrote this next book that’s coming out in October 2021, I did a lot of research about paraplegia, and I never failed to find inspiration in the lives of those who have had life-altering events that threatened to derail their cherished plans. It seemed that the more challenges these people encountered, the more they pushed to succeed in making their goals. That’s something I’ve tucked away to remember when my plans derail. Instead of giving up, I’ll remember what I’ve learned from writing this book about those who don’t have give up in their vocabulary.
And now the winners from my month-long contest to celebrate the publication of this next book.
Signed Books/ eBooks (for international winners)
Cathrina Constatine, Mary Aalgaard, Sandra Cox, Mike Boyd, Elephant Child, Liz. A., Rebecca Douglas, Patricia Garcia, Sheri Sudweeks, Hilary, Michael Di Gesu, Jemi Fraser, Natalie Aguirre, Sherry Hilger, Simone Smith, J. Lennie Dorner, Jeff.
$10 Amazon Gift Certificates
Elephant Child
Natalie Aguirre
September Question
How do you define success as a writer? Is it holding your book in your hand? Having a short story published? Making a certain amount of income from your writing?
The co-hosts for the September 1 posting of the IWSG are Rebecca Douglass,T. Powell Coltrin @Journaling Woman,Natalie Aguirre,Karen Lynn, and C. Lee McKenzie!
From the way the question is phrased, it’s clear that success is highly subjective. It will be interesting to visit everyone today and read the answers.
Mine is short and pretty simple. I feel successful if I write a story that people enjoy reading. And I feel doubly successful if the next book is better crafted than the previous one. I hadn’t re-read my previously published novels until I finished this newest one. But I was curious to see if I’d become an improved storyteller, so I finally cracked open a couple of earlier publications. To tell the truth, I was a bit nervous. What if I hadn’t grown as a writer? What if I was stuck and couldn’t grow in my craft? Since this post has a theme of bravery, I thought re-reading old writing would be a good test of my nerve.
As it turned out, I did find some improvement, but I was disappointed that I hadn’t made any major leaps between my last book (Not Guilty) and this one. I had made more between my first book (Sliding on the Edge) and this one, and I had to resist taking up my red editor’s pen to get rid of some annoying cliches and newbie writing in Sliding.
What a challenging and interesting field this writing of stories is. I can’t read a great story without thinking, wow, look at all those words and how beautiful they are when they’re put together just so. Here’s to everyone’s success, regardless of what it looks like for each of you.
The next #IWSGPit is already on the calendar, so be sure to add the date to yours and start brushing up on that pitch. It’s always fun to jump into a Twitter Pitch.
Quote of the Month: Bravery is the capacity to perform even when scared half to death. Admiral Omar N. Bradley
JJ Burry says
I love this! Growth is a sure sign of loving what you do 🙂
Sorry for the late reply. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.
I always look forward to the quotes you pick out. I like your definition of success.
I think it’s great you look for improvement between stories. I know I look back at my previous book and cringe. I certainly hope I’ve improved since then!
Very cool.
And yay to me for winning. (Dropped you an email)
Bravery usually requires a scary situation. (Scary from the person’s POV.)
Hi Lee,
YAY for your new release! Congrats~ I am looking forward to receiving my autographed copy! I haven’t had a newly signed book in AGES. I can’t wait to finish my library to give it a new home.
A great definition of success. I agree. Learning and moving forward are always so important for the growth and success of any writer.
Please show me your new library when you’ve finished it. I love home libraries. They are so wonderful, and I’ll bet yours will be spectacular!
Hi Lee - brilliant … thanks so much - I’ll enjoy the e-read … and congratulations to all the other winners.
We can all learn from other writers … bloggers too - learn and see what they’re doing … cater to our audience to get one’s voice out …
Thank you so much … cheers Hilary
Learning from others here is what is the most exciting part of blogging. I love visiting your site because you never fail to teach me something new!
Great post! I’m not surprised that the improvement from the first book to the second was most noticeable. We never stop growing and improving (or if we do, we’re done for), but the curve does tend to flatten!
Excited for my book-if it’s not too late, can I have it as an ebook? I’m trying to reduce the number of “real” books I’ll have to move when next I up stakes and head out!
Got you down for an eBook, Rebecca. And here’s to more growing and improving. I can’t imagine life without doing that.
Thinking of you during this major transition time.
Thank you C.Lee for your news and insights. Better ourselves while enjoying the act of writing is the key I think. So don’t torture yourself too much. Trust your readers and fans to provide feedback and hints on possible improvements. Wishing you a fruitful autumn creativity.
And I’ll wish you the same, Susan.
A couple of years ago, I reread my published books and was happy to see I still enjoyed the story I wrote and could see where I had improved as a writer.
Still enjoying the story has to be a test. You obviously wrote a good one.
I love the idea of looking back on your old work as a way to show yourself how you’ve grown. Thanks for co-hosting this week!
Great to meet you, Samantha. Thanks for leaving a comment.
Congrats on your new release! I’m sorry I missed your contest. Sounds like it was a good one.
So far, everyone’s ideas of success are so altruistic and selfless. I wanna do this full time, dammit! 😉 Hope you had a great summer.
Great to see you here. Thanks for the visit.
Not surprisingly, your improvements in your craft will be smaller and smaller with each book, because you’re getting better and better and there’s only so much you can do to improve. I would have been afraid to look back at my older books for fear they would be so cringeworthy I’d be afraid to pick up a pen again.
Thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month!
I suppose you’re right, Ken, but I know where I want to be and get frustrated when I haven’t made it there.
Thank you for the book! I’m a winner. It is my pleasure to support you in your writing success!!!
You are a winner on many levels! I’ll be in touch about sending the book when I have it in my hands.
That quote not only resonates with me but is at the heart of what I do as a Life Coach.
What a fantastic decision to be inspired by a Paralympete for your next book. So many inspiring tales of trials overcome, they really are superhuman when compared with us mere mortals.
All the best for the new book.
Thank you so much for the comment. It sounds as if you’re in touch with many people in a caring way.
That is a fantastic quote! I admire those who don’t have ‘give up’ in their vocabulary. That sort of determination is a great inspiration. I also feel good when I see how my writing has improved over the years. Sometimes that’s hard when struggling with a book, but it’s a good reminder. Have a lovely long weekend!
Improvement give me encouragement and like you I feel that “give up” is not a good word for anyone’s vocabulary.
Loved visiting your new website. It’s very cool.
I enjoyed reading all that - and from your previous post I have now learned how to survive the zombie apocalypse! I didn’t realise guns worked on them… I think a great many paralympians are inspiring - but then so are many people, once you realise they have a story that inspires 🙂
Thanks for co-hosting this month, Lee.
Jemima
I didn’t know about guns and zombies either, Jemima. I learned something new from that post.
Hi Lee - congratulations to all your winners - generous offer. Wonderful set of comments - so pleased for you. Knowing that people comment or email approvingly is all grist to inspiring us to keep going with our writing. Cheers Hilary
Our village is quite wonderful, and I’m always pleased to be a part of it!
Hi Lee,
One of my goals has always been to become a better writer day by day and after reading the quote from Leanne Smith, I can say I identify with what she is saying. It is inspiring because the odds were against her and she defied them. That is a beautiful testimony and it encouraged me.
Thank you for co-hosting today and I am sorry that I am late. I was working on my submission to the IWSG Anthology.
Take care and be safe.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I think a lot of people were hustling to meet that deadline. Glad you spent your time so productively! And good luck with your entry.
Great post! I think there could be nothing better than writing a story that other people enjoy. I’m inspired by your goal to improve as an author with each book.
Hi Yvette. Thanks for coming by today and glad you picked up a bit of inspiration during your visit.
Good idea to read and compare earlier works. Sounds like a great way to see how far you’ve come, but also a bit scary.
Downright scary. I now understand why film actors prefer not seeing themselves on the screen. It’s just too revealing.
“I feel successful if I write a story that people enjoy reading.” Me too, Lee, me too. It means so much.
Teresa
Thank you. I know you write from your heart, too and that is always success.
Writing something that readers connect with is a special kind of success. So is improving 🙂
You would understand that feeling, Lynda.
Good quote! And we always strive to improve, don’t we? It’s never-ending. 🙂
As we well know, YV! Remember that first group when we met? Something about Critters. Good grief that was another lifetime.
Yay! I won. I won:)
You most definitely have succeeded as an author, Lee.
I so admire paralympics participants. What heart. What strength. What will.
You did win! And I’ll be sending a book along as soon as I have one in my eager little paw.
Paralympic athletes are an amazing group and you’ve said it best.
You’re a successful writer, hands down. Feel proud. 🙂
Thanks for co-hosting.
All is relative, Melissa. I’m pleased to have stuck it out in this business and know how tough it is for writers.
I love the quote. A real plan of action. Thanks for cohosting.
Thanks for co-hosting this month! That you now know enough to spot newbie mistakes in your early books definitely counts as a success. I get my rights back to my first series in ’23, ’24, and ’25, and I’m itching to clean them up! I wish you happy writing in September.
Good luck with that re-acquisition of your books. Let us know how all of that goes. Great to have you here today.
Swimming while prone to muscle spasms sounds utterly terrifying. I may have to read up on that some more. Happy IWSG Day!
I was trying to imagine how she could do it and medal at that! Thanks for the visit and the comment.
Yay, I’m a winner. Can’t wait to read your book.
I think I’d be more prone to not want to read my previous work as I’d be itching to fix it. But that’s me. I like the idea of reading to see how much better you are now.
I look forward to sending it your way. And, yes, there is a terrible temptation to fiddle with older work.
A great quote and one to work by. Congrats on your upcoming release.
Thanks, Susan, Glad you found the quote wothy of including here.
How lovely: “I feel successful if I write a story that people enjoy reading.” I agree, totally.
It seems simple, but a challenge to accomplish as every writer knows,
Hi, Cheryl-Lee!
Happy September to you, dear friend!
Thanks for sharing your source of inspiration. You gotta have “Heart,” as the song from Damn Yankees, the 1955 Broadway musical and 1958 film, reminds us.
I enjoyed your answer to the question of the month. To me, success is finding something that you love to do and making a living doing it. Another way to measure success, and it ties in with what you wrote, is being able to mark progress and improvement over your earlier works.
The quote of the month is a lesson I learned many years ago in motivational seminars. Fear is normal. Don’t allow it to cripple you, hold you back and prevent you from reaching your goals. Courage is the ability to set aside fear, press on and get the job done.
Have a safe and happy month, dear friend Cheryl-Lee!
You have a song for every situation, Shady! I love it. You clearly love what you do. That comes across in every blog post you make and every comment you take the time to leave. Your so generous with your time.
Terrific post! Is there really any harsher judge of our work than ourselves? Because I’ve read most of your work, I can honestly guess your next book will (once again) be a gem. If you’ve ever been “scared to death” it doesn’t show 😉 Thank you for co-hosting!
You’ve blown me away, Diedre! What wonderful compliments you’ve left for me, and may I say today is so much brighter for having read them.
I so admire all those athletes. I’m not sure I would have their courage. You chose a great quote. Stay safe out there.
I don’t think I’d have that kind of courage either. I’m not sure how I’d deal with a sudden shift from being physically able to having to adapt to doing all of the ordinary things differently.
For myself, I don’t know that I can see improvement from one book to the next, but I can certainly see improvement over time (thank goodness, because my first books were a bit of a mess), so I guess that’s something. I’ve been in such a slump for the last year or so. I guess I’ll feel like a success again when I finally find a way to start WRITING again. 😂
Great post, and congrats on the upcoming release.
It does take time to see growth. When I first started I thought I was doing a great job, and now I see I had a ways to go. I was just lucky that a publisher wanted to take a chance on me. I’ve always been grateful for that. Hope you get back to writing soon.
Thank you for quoting Leanne Smith. Inspiring and clearly stated. We all benefit when folks share their secret to success. Thanks for co-hosting this month.
Lynn La Vita http://la-vita-dot-us/write/
I was so pleased to find that quote last week while I was trying to figure out what to write today. It was perfect for me, so I’m glad you found it inspiring, too.
YAY!!! Winner. Winner. Chicken Dinner! I can’t wait to read it!!
Lee, Great, Inspiring Post as always!
You are a hoot, Cathrina! Glad you won.
You are soooo right about success being subjective. And as an aside money and/or fame DO not measure it in my eyes. Neither for me (luckily because neither will become a happening thing) or for anyone else.
As I so often say, writers are my heroes. Each and every one of you takes me places I haven’t been, force me to think about things I have skulked away from, educate me, comfort me, delight me.
And as an aside huge thanks for the prizes which were not the reason I played your game but are very welcome. Sadly you will have to negotiate with Amazon.au to deliver them. I will be unable to access them if you can’t.
I’ll see what I can do about that Ye Olde Amazon.au. I’ll figure out something. You don’t happen to have a Zelle on your bank account, do you? Let’s “talk” after I deal with Amazon.
Thank you for the inspiration. It always seems easier to give up, but then the consequences can be regrets. I needed your pep talk and the great example of the athlete pushing forward. Congrats on the upcoming release AND to those winners. What a great way to get the buzz going. Oh, and thank you for co-hosting!!
I’ll be glad when this launch is accomplished. I always have my doubts and fears about now, and it takes a lot of will power not to demand the manuscript back.
I don’t see you as a give up kind of person in the least, but we all need inspiration once in a while.
Congrats on the upcoming book!
I’m a firm believer that success come through planning and action, not luck or accident. And it is wise to reflect on past success to measure our growth and progress. The journey is as important as the destination.
I agree with you about the planning and action. I’m just such a poor planner. I try, but then I get busy and diverted from whatever “perfect” plan I’ve laid out, and pretty soon I’m floundering again. I’m told it’s because I’m a water sign. I don’t pay much attention to that, but sometimes I do feel a bit like water. I flow this way and that seeking out my way around those boulders in life. Is that a good metaphor?
That’s a great metaphor! Water is all about flexibility, not floundering. I’m a fire sign. It can be a struggle to tamp down those “scorched earth” tendencies. 🤣
Such a well-phrased and sensible answer to this month’s question. “Be better” can account for being more successful. Simple and straightforward, as you point out.
I feel answering this question can have so many dimensions (some of it depends on our moods, energy, and previous accomplishments) that I could write an entire post about my answer. But, I did manage to keep it to two paragraphs. It’s interesting to read answers of different authors on this one! Thank you for co-hosting this month.
Thank you, Liesbet. It was a good question to consider, and from the other answers I’ve read, authors took some time to think about their responses.
I’m always amazed by the tenacity individuals have to overcome tough circumstances. My dad, who uses a prosthetic leg and has CMT - a neurological disease, has always figured out ways to move forward with his dreams as a private pilot, an airplane mechanic, a skier, a hiker, a canoeist (he could backpack camp with a canoe that he could portage on wheels even if he couldn’t hike and backpack).
And writing, well, I hear what you are saying. I wish I had become “better/greater” at my writing over the years. I see small improvements, but I also see setbacks in my old and current work.
For your writing, I love your books.
I admire people like your dad and I sense that you really think he’s special. He’s certainly done some exciting things and never let that CMT or the prosthetic hold him back. Amazing.
I hear you about the improvement. It does seem slow. Thanks for your compliment. That’s what keeps me going.
Isn’t it amazing that some people shine when they have a ton of challenges tossed on them while those with few challenges never rise above average?
Challenges often make the difference. When things are too easy people just settle for okay.
Congrats on your new release in October! Looking forward to it. Seeing improvement in writing is a great marker. Thanks for co-hosting!
Hi Adrienne. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello!
That does put success into perspective, doesn’t it? I think age gives us the wisdom to understand what you’ve pointed out.
I look forward to your next book!
Just bought Born in Treacherous Times and can’t wait to start it!
Thanks for co-hosting today, Lee! I, too, am inspired by people like Leanne Smith, especially having been married to a quadriplegic. I’m looking forward to the publication of your next book! Have a great day!
I didn’t know that about your husband, Louise. After writing this book, I have nothing but admiration for anyone who must adapt to a drastically different way of life. This book has taught me so much.
Just to be clear, it was my first husband who was the quadriplegic! He was amazing. When I met him, he was singing and playing a blues harp for Americans stationed in Spain and Germany. He inspired me every day with his determination to make the most of the life he had.
I agree that this parameter resonates: “if the next book is better crafted than the previous one.” While I didn’t blog it, preferring another topic, I recall that my oft-stated quest has been to “write right.”
Succinct and correct.
Congratulations to all the winners!
This resonates: “if the next book is better crafted than the previous one” -that’s quite close to my definition of success!
Waiting for your next book, Damyanti. Loved the first one. I’d say you’ve made a very success of this business.
Congratulations to all the winners! And yes, I think seeing one’s writing improve is a great sign of success. I’m glad I got to read your current story in it’s raw form and I look forward to reading the revise/edited version.
You’re always a great reader, Bish. Thanks for being there.
Improving as a writer, and being able to rejoice in it, is a success.
The improvements I’ve made as a writer have been as a result of what we wrote about last month, all those books on the craft of writing.
I’m glad you found what you need in the books written on the craft. And thanks for the visit today!
My pleasure.
Hope you’ll return. I appreciate new readers and followers.
I’m so excited to win! Thanks for co-hosting today. I like how you use growing and improving as measures of your success. I’m sure you’re improving faster than you think. Even when I didn’t write for myself and only as a contract writer, I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in my own writing.
I’m glad you won, Natalie. You were so supportive during last month’s character reveal.
I guess we do get better if we just keep practicing.
Words are so . . . sexy. They entice, they thrill, they make the heart beat faster or sometimes break. What a great job we have. Thank for doing this one this month!!
You’re so right, Nancy. Words are sexy and very powerful.
Not sure why my first comment disappeared - trying again. If it’s a repeat, feel free to delete!
I like your definition of success - growing and changing and learning. Perfect!
Growing and improving is a great definition of success!
Excited about your new story!! Thanks again!
WordPress likes to trick people by taking away their comments and then giving them back after they’ve left. It’s a game of theirs. Thanks for making sure you got your comment posted.
Congratulations to the winners!
I’ve read my first book and oh yeah, I’ve improved.
Thanks for co-hosting today!
If we don’t improve, something has to be wrong.