When I was in high school, I had a fantastic creative writing teacher who empowered our class. His edits did not crush us as fledgling writers. His suggestions for improvement made us better. He brought in people who had been published to demonstrate what was possible if we pursued our dreams. They were mostly columnists, but still! Real. Published. Writers. It stirred our souls. It was a dream everyone in that room shared, including him.
Fast forward a few years: I returned to that classroom to mine his brain and imagination for ideas to get published. I had written a novella, an expansion of a short story I’d written in his class, and I was hoping to send it out into the wide world. I was full of enthusiasm, certain he’d have the answers. This was before Google and the internet (I’m dating myself a bit here, aren’t I? In fact, I’m still in my forties. The internet was a fledgling itself not that long ago). I hadn’t heard of Writer’s Digest. Script magazine wasn’t around yet. My teacher had more experience and I hoped to access it. I walked into that school excited and proud, I was following my dream! I left deflated. That teacher now focused on journalism. Fact, not fiction. When I asked about publishing books, he said there was no point in trying, it was nearly impossible. I wish I’d been the kind of person then who heard ‘nearly’ and saw possibility in it, but I wasn’t. Cue dreams crashing to the ground. I absorbed his discouragement and took it as truth. I didn’t write stories again for many years.
Fast forward again to about 2008. I’d met a friend who en-couraged. Who insisted on persistence. If I was a writer, then I should write. If no one reads it, so be it. Writers write. She was a writer also and it helped so much, having that support. Having someone in my life who understood the desire to create. To build worlds from words. She bought me A Writer’s Book of Days as further encouragement. Around 2010 or 2011, I started writing a book called Epitaph. That book turned into three when I realized there was more story to tell than would fit in one book. When I was discouraged again by someone who strongly criticized my work, I nearly quit writing altogether. My friend championed me on. She made me go to a writer’s conference in 2012 that I didn’t want to go to (after all, I was giving up writing) and there, I met my dear editor. With their support and encouragement, I finished the Epitaph trilogy. Yes, there were others who cheered me on, but those two were instrumental in my finishing the marathon. To encourage is to lend strength.
So often we are turned aside from the things we long to do. Let’s not give up. To quote Shakespeare, “what’s past is prologue”. The past is merely setting a stage, more lies ahead. If you’ve been discouraged in the past, be encouraged today. Share your gift. If you get knocked down, stand up, brush yourself off, and carry on. If no one else is in your corner, I’m cheering you on. Have courage. If you are a person of faith, as I am, ask people for prayer support. But keep going, my friend. If for no one else, do it for YOU. For the satisfaction of a dream fulfilled.
The C.S. Lewis quote, “Courage, dear heart” from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has always spoken deeply to me. So much so, I had it tattooed on my forearm (as shown in the feature photo). In the scene from the book, the Dawn Treader (a ship) is out at sea, surrounded by complete blackness. All those onboard are being preyed upon by their deepest fears. Lucy asks Aslan for help and he sends an albatross, which gives everyone hope. Lucy alone heard it whisper to her as it circled the mast, ‘Courage, dear heart.’ Shortly after, the sky lightens to grey and they shoot out into sunlight, where they realize there was nothing to fear after all.
I didn’t want to get to the end of life and realize that I didn’t pursue my dream out of fear or difficulty. I encourage you also to travel beyond your comfort zone. Separate dis from courage. It’s never too late to chase a dream. And if you have the opportunity to encourage someone, please do. It could be the difference between someone giving up or going on.
Cheers,
Janelle
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”
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