Monday, October 28, 2013

Who's Ready For A Barn Raising?






I come from sturdy stock. My mother was a no nonsense kinda woman, raised in the Ozarks. She was born of even sturdier parents whose ancestors crossed the Carolinas in a Conestoga wagon to eventually raise my mother in a one-room log cabin in Arkansas. My mother grew up during a time of devotion to neighborly deeds and barn raisings

In case you don't know what a barn raising is, it's when neighbors come from miles away to work together to build a barn in one day. The men do the hard labor and the women keep them fed. Together the goal is achieved and everyone celebrates the successes of the day.

By now you probably know where I'm going with all of this. Barn raising and book writing have a lot in common. You can't build a barn on your own and a book will never make it to publication all by itself.

Friends, family, critique partners, agents, editors, illustrators, publishers...the list is almost endless yet a book is born through the efforts of people coming together for a single purpose. The methods may be a bit different from barn raisings but the camaraderie and celebration of a job well done remains the same.

As a writer, I've been blessed these past three years to be a part of a community full of writing "neighbors" eager to help me raise a book "barn" of my own. Even when they have to decline helping me raise that barn at the moment, they are still cheering me on from the sidelines with the promise of coming to my aid some time in the future when I need them again. I like that. It reminds me I don't have to do this all on my own. That I will have a chance to help someone else raise their own book barn, celebrating THEIR successes along the way and that's a right neighborly way to be...





10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Yolanda! I had no clue when I joined this writing community three years ago that I would meet such friendly, helpful people along the way...many of them I now call friends...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  2. I love this, Donna. Writers are the most helpful people I know. My circle of writing friends has made a big difference in my successes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pat! I can not even imagine being on this journey to publication all by myself. If I'm ever lucky enough to become a published author, I will need a book just to hold the dedication page!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  3. Definitely! Lots of cooks stirring the pot to make a book happen. Barn raising indeed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Genevieve! this picture is actually of a barn I pass every day when I pick up the kids from one of my schools and take them back to my training facility for their marital arts lessons. It was one of those visuals which triggered a blog post and I just KNEW I needed to take me a picture...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  4. Hi Donna,

    Somewhat off-topic and in relation to previous comments, I thought I would thank you again for the shove. When I made the decision to take a year out and try this writing business I wasn't at all convinced it would be viable. It has been less than three months and I have secured a writing job which pays a reasonable salary. I anticipated some hardship taking the plunge but maybe it was supposed to be because now I can even eat and have electricity and stuff :)

    Seriously though, it makes what I want to try and achieve a possibility instead of a pipe-dream and once again I'm pointing the finger at you and Janet. I have serialised the YA version of the first book on my site for free (still not the final manuscript though). The intention was to re-launch the book on Nov 5 as ever with me it looks likely to be delayed a couple of weeks.

    The transition from blogspot to .com set me back as I have had to start over again but everything for a reason. I KNOW I will succeed because I didn't choose this path I just went along for the ride. It's only my own choices that wither and die.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi JP! What a wonderful opportunity for you with this new job...and WRITING as well! Can you see I'm doing the happy dance for you? ;~) And I'll take the "blame"...especially if there comes a day when I get to say "I knew him when"!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
    2. JP, Donna can't dance. So I will do the happy dance for you. (don't believe Donna if she says I can't dance either.) I am ready for your future books. We are soooooo proud of you.

      Delete
    3. Just remember who met you first...lol...

      Delete