I am ready to settle in for the next little while and root for my country. The Olympic Games, a revived version of the original tussle between the city states of Ancient Greece, is one of my favorite events. This time around, though, I am peering a bit more closely at the contests and in particular at the word 'games'. A game is something we play for fun, right? Yes, there can be the typical I-am-better-at-Uno/Monopoly/Boggle-than-you-are attitude, but isn't it more friendly sniping than out and out war? I ask this because I am beginning to sense the animosity in the current Olympics, and it makes me sad. Thankfully, the only competition I have faced in the writing world is my own push to do better; other writers have been nothing but encouraging. Authors, it can be said, recognize and celebrate the gifts that others proffer to the world.
I look back at some of my earlier attempts at writing and I can see quite clearly who it was I was emulating at the time. I didn't have faith in my own abilities and felt it necessary to copy an admired style. It took several - okay, a lot - of rejection letters for me to finally accept that my way was the best for me, that my own particular style was the one I needed to accept and nourish. And you know what? It worked!
The moral of this blog is to never doubt your gift. Let it flourish and be glad that you are unique. And remember to celebrate the excitement of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
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