Being a member of my critique group, Viva Scriva, means sharing things with one another that help to inspire us, whether they be interesting blog posts, special speakers that we hear at a conference, articles that we read, books on the writer’s craft, etc… This past week I actually watched something on the dreaded “T” word that helped inspire me to keep writing.
What is the “T” word, you ask? It’s the ultimate time suck, of course (besides the internet)…television.
I don’t watch a ton of T.V., but I do like certain shows, and one of them is “America’s Got Talent.” I enjoy rooting for my favorites, and sometimes I actually do go online and on the phone and vote for them. I was saddened this week by the magician Landon Swank getting the boot, since I really enjoyed his performances and appreciated his artistry. My husband is a magician, and I have acted as his assistant on numerous occasions, so I always appreciate watching a good magician.
My other favorite act this season is a dance troupe named “Silhouettes.” They are a mixed –age group, the youngest being three-years-old, and mix dance with shadow play that looks almost like puppetry at times. What I love most about the group is the way they tell a story with their dance. This week’s performance was no different. It is a story about believing in your dreams, with a boy struggling with his studies in the beginning of the act and then thinking about all he can accomplish if only he finish his schooling.
Though the craft of writing fiction is never mentioned or shown throughout the performance, I couldn’t help but think about my dream of being a full-time author while watching it. I understand what that boy is feeling as he sits at his desk, struggling with his work, at the very beginning of the act. I picture myself sitting there, struggling with a line of dialogue or how my main character should feel in a particular scene or what the best word would be for an action I am trying to convey. Writing is HARD, and it’s easy to want to give up. Heck, it would be SO easy to give up. I would only have to close my laptop, stand up, and walk away to the infinite number of other things that beg for my attention at all hours of the day and night—cleaning, children, teaching, husbands, dogs, errands, and everything else in the world that needs me besides my writing.
But as the act progresses, and the audience sees how the boy can accomplish his dreams if he only keeps to his work, it makes me know that I too need to keep my bum in my chair and stick with it. I too can be an author—if I work hard enough, long enough, keep on dreaming, and always, always BELIEVE.
I hope that all of you keep your belief in your dreams alive, too.
(Click here to see the Silhouettes perform on YouTube. Enjoy!)
Nicole Marie Schreiber 