encouragement | Beth Hull

The Revision Cave

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Beth Hull

*is a lonely place, but not entirely lonely

*more than one writer friend is ALWAYS in a neighboring cave

*flickers of self-doubt

*outright paranoia

*thank heavens for good friends who respond to emails within minutes

When I came out of the Revision Cave I looked like this:

So then I painted my toenails a happy teal color, the color I would’ve been proud to wear on a baggy t-shirt in 1986. I would post a photo because honestly my feet are my only body parts that don’t disgust me these days and aren’t covered in a fine, barely-wiped-away layer of baby spit-up. Although he did get my slipper the other day.

TEAL

My computer is going to Tune-Up Land this weekend, and I’m not sure when she’ll be back, so I’ll use this as an opportunity to do another Internet Blackout / Reprioritizing of Internet Usage over the coming week. Same deal as last time: check email Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with a 30-minute limit on those days. (No worries, I won’t be completely without internet access. Homes has a bright shiny new laptop I can use. If I arm-wrestle him for it. Nope, that won’t work. He’s definitely stronger than I am. Which isn’t saying a lot, as the heaviest thing I’ve lifted in the past thirteen weeks is Maverick, and he’s only about twelve pounds. I think I’ll stop now.)

Last thing – Attention Blogger Friends: If you use images on your blogs that you find online, you may want to check out this post on Pub Rants. I’m currently going through & removing everything I didn’t create myself.

The Gift of Belief

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Beth Hull

The Gift of Belief. No, I’m not talking about Santa Claus.

Last week, the YA Muses wrote about gifts for writers. What do writers want for the holidays? Things like people to read their books (Katy), ultra-fine tipped Sharpies (Donna), conferences and retreats (Talia), fingerless gloves (Veronica), and guilt-free writing time (Bret). Yes, sign me up for all of those. But the most important thing I want is something I already have, which is a community of people who believe in me. They believe in me not only when things are going well, but even when I have no faith in myself. When I’m thinking of herding goats in a cold remote country that has no computers or typewriters or notebooks.

Friends and family – writers & non-writers alike – post encouragements via email, texts, and Facebook. They listen to me whine. They talk me down when I’m facing the Crevasse of Insecurity. They celebrate the good things, and believe more good things are to come.

They also read my words over and over and over and come up with brilliant suggestions to make my words into something people – not just goats – would want to read. They listen to me obsess about plot, character, revisions, querying, success, and failure.

And all this time invested comes down to one very simple thing: belief. They believe in me. Maybe they don’t think This Book is the one, but they won’t say so. Because even if it isn’t This Book, it’s the one after that, or the one after that, or – you get the idea. And they’re all along for the ride, with all its ups and downs.

I’m frowning a little as I write this, because it’s so sappy. But it’s true: I love you.

So We All Understand Each Other: Just because I’ve already received the Gift of Belief does NOT mean I will turn down other, more materialistic offerings this holiday season.

So tell me – who do you have to thank for believing in you?