Writers...Start Your Engines!

***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***

Before we get to today's post I wanted to give you updates on a couple of things.  By now everyone who reads my blog knows about the Children's Festival of Reading event which happens in my city every May to help benefit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  You know I started hosting a FREE AUTHOR'S PROMOTION at my booth where I promote all your lovely ebooks and hardcover books as my way of giving back to this wonderful writing community. Last year I received 350 autographed items (books, bookmarks, postcards, tshirts, mugs, posters, etc) to be included in my FREE GIVEAWAY to some of the 15,000 people who attend this event each year.  Well, the festival is happening this Saturday, May 18th and while I am STILL receiving daily packages from lovely authors all around the world, here are the latest numbers...

That's how many authors are currently participating in this year's event!  And how many autographed books and other signed items do I have so far to give away at my booth this year?

All I can say is WOW!!!

***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***

The second thing I wanted to talk about is my Flash Fiction Friday posts.  When I started those Friday posts, I envisioned something where readers and writers could come together to have fun while creating a story.  I have had tremendous pleasure starting off each week's story, and I enjoyed reading every addition you, lovely readers, have contributed along the way.  There are people who jump in with both feet and add a line or two to each story.  There are others who simply read them for the pure entertainment value and go on with their day.  While I LOVE both groups, the blog stats indicate that maybe this is not something you would like to see on a weekly basis and I'm wondering if I should consider dropping the Friday post?  What do you, my readers, say?  Do you still want to see Flash Fiction Friday posts?  Are the Monday and Wednesday posts enough?  Do you want to see something different on Fridays?  I have actually been toying with the idea of inviting illustrators to stop by on Friday (kinda like my WRITERLY WISDOM) series and give us a peek into THEIR world.  Would you like something like that instead on your Fridays?  I'm open to suggestions and would REALLY appreciate if you would give me your comments and feedback!

***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***NEWS FLASH***

Now on to today's post:

When I was a teenager, my father decided it was time for me to learn how to drive.  He taught my three siblings so I'm sure he thought it would be no big deal to show his fourth child the ways of the road.  There were only two things he really hadn't considered when he put me behind the wheel.  Although my brother and sisters managed to learn how to drive under his watchful eye, my father wasn't exactly known for his patience and we both quickly saw he would not have the patience necessary for me to learn how to drive our family car which was a stick shift.  The other thing my father failed to realize was that he put too much faith in my school's driver's education teacher and thought I would have a better chance of learning how to drive with lessons from him so I was soon enrolled in the class. 

Coach Primeaux was the full time coach of my school football team and part time driver's ed teacher.  Standing well above six feet tall and built like a quarterback himself, there wasn't much that could shake him.  That was good because this was before driving simulators or even a second steering wheel in the training car so it was just me and Coach Primeaux in the front seat, while two other student drivers were in the back seat.  To pass the class I was supposed to drive to the nearest town, fourteen miles away, and return to the school while obeying all the rules of the road.

Everything started out okay...seatbelts securely fastened, hands at ten and two o'clock, checking the rear view mirror every few minutes.  I was feeling pretty confident I would impress Coach Primeaux with my driving skill until we were on our way back to the school and I had to go through Deadman's Curve.

That was the nickname given to a rather sharp curve leading back into town which had unfortunately caused quite a few accidents over the years and one or two fatalities when some driver grew reckless while speeding through the curve.  Just as I began to approach the curve I looked down to check my speed and when I glanced back up, I was looking straight at an oncoming 18 wheeler barreling through Deadman's Curve and NOTHING in Coach Primeaux's class had taught me how to handle THAT scenario!

Needless to say, we all managed to make it through the curve without a scratch and I even commend my teacher for not losing his cool at the near accident, but it sure was funny to see him jump out the car almost before I came to a stop and run behind the school building to smoke a cigarette to calm his nerves...:~)

What does all this have to do with writing?  New writers are like new drivers.  We start out learning the rules of the road to publication and gradually become confident in our ability to maneuver our way around any obstacle in our path.  We don't learn it all in one day and sometimes we fail our test to even be on the road.  But if we want it bad enough we keep getting back in the driver's seat and try again until the day comes when we cross the finish line and can call ourselves authors.  

All it takes is perseverance, a little bit of blind luck, and the ability to START YOUR ENGINE!