Blogger Colleen Newvine is no stranger to Help for Writers. A few months back she did a guest post about marrying the corporate and the creative in your writing life. These days, she’s using the month of November to blog daily about something for which she’s thankful. So far she’s covered topics ranging from laughter to New York City to her personal trainer. And she just launched a contest asking readers, “Who are you thankful for?” She’s offering a prize to the person the winner says they’re most thankful for. Very cool indeed.
I’m stealing a page out of Colleen’s book — er, blog. I want to hear from all you writers on this topic. What are you thankful for? It can be anything — walking with your dog in the park, sipping a hot cup of coffee while you check your email, date nights with your spouse, coupons, etc.
But that’s not all!
When you post your thoughts on being thankful in the comments, you’ll be eligible to win a five-page manuscript critique from Help for Writers.
I’ll leave comments open until midnight on Wednesday, November 17. I’ll announce the winner the following day.
I’m offering this up because one of the things I’m most thankful for are writers who don’t give up on their dreams, and who strive to make their writing better at every turn. Books made a huge difference in my life at a critical juncture, and I’m not sure what I would have done if Wilson Rawls would have let himself believe Where the Red Fern Grows was no good, or if Stephen King had decided to give into his demons and not write IT.
I’m also thankful for you — the people who stop by this site, who leave your feedback, and who don’t let your writing stagnate. Thanks for making Help for Writers such a success, and for making the writing life so completely wonderful.
I can’t wait to hear what you’re thankful for!
8 Comments
You know what I’m thankful for.
Circular perfection. Frosted bliss. Sprinkled love. Holy donuts, for inspiration, for nutrition – okay, not for nutrition – for their uncanny ability to encapsulate all that is good and right in the world. And they go so well with coffee!
Neil, I would have guessed you’d pick donuts, but I never could have put it as well as you did. You have a true gift when it comes to writing about them!
I am thankful for my adorable pink netbook. I like to joke and call it my Barbie computer, or my Hello Kitty computer, but really, this thing is a workhorse. It’s small enough to take everywhere, so I do. Just looking at it makes me happy, which makes me want to write more. And the fact that I bought it with money earned from selling a short story gives me a sense of pride and can-do attitude that I swear translates into more self-confidence as I write. Barbie never had it so good!
Yes! The notebook! Also your pink office. In which the pink notebook goes so well.
I’m thankful for passion. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to not want to write, if life would be more peaceful, less anxious, because there is no hole to fill. And then I think, “Well hell, writing is like anything else we want, it’s just a different wantnobetternoworse; without passion what do we have?”
And, I can’t imagine a life without passion, and for me it’s writing.
Yay words!! Yippee sentences that describe the same thing in an exquisitely different way!! Yahooo for phrases that make me stop and re-read just so I can envision them again, and again, and again. Yay Margaret Y. above, for buying a laptop with your short story earnings!!!
Me, I want to alternately strangle and glorify that pesky passion for writing of which you speak. But I’m glad today is a glorify/be thankful day.
I am brimming with thankfulness at the moment. I’m thankful for the small kindnesses authors have shown me lately, even though they barely know me. I’m thankful for a loving, supportive writing group. I’m thankful for my cat, who has decided my purpose in life is to be a pillow. I’m super thankful for my husband, who years ago argued me out of getting a job ‘for money’ and told me to stay home and write because it’s my heart’s desire.
Amity, thanks for your lovely comment — and I’m so glad you’re able to work every day at your heart’s desire. That’s wonderful indeed.