It’s been an unusual week around the offices of TheWriteCrowd.com, filled with revelations both great and small. First revelation around the office… we could really use an office. I mean, seriously! I have microphones, a soundboard, my nifty new desktop and a stack of reference books higher than my head… all with no room to spare. I’m boxed in. My wife has to toss my dinner at me like snausages to a hyperactive puppy. Second revelation… pervy spammers clearly have nothing better to do with their time than to create fake screen names so that they can post their porn links on our message board. Please rest assured that we are taking measures to avoid such nasties, but it is sad to think that some people spend their sad lives with nothing better to do than try to spread their sickness. And last but not least… the revelation that is the subject of this particular entry…

We as writers have the power to determine our destiny.

Wow. Take a minute. Let it sink in past the noise of the TV and the neighbors barking mongrel. The greatest tool in our arsenal of writer’s tricks, skills and propensities is our determination. Why? Because your determination is the linchpin on which everything else hangs. What if Tolkkien had that wonderful world of characters, plots, languages and relationships all there in his mind but lacked the determination to put pen to paper? What if Charles Dickens just hadn’t felt like creating his first work?

You see, you and I, we aren’t so different. Who knows who among us will become the next Orson Scott Card, John Grisham or Dean Koontz? You may be that person. You may be destined for greatness, and yet… that greatness will never be achieved if you lack the determination to make it happen. What does that mean? It means that the road that leads to YOUR destiny begins and continues and ends with your determined steps. The finish line never comes to you, my friends. You have to run for it… and never forget that you aren’t the only one running for the tape. Your determination, your drive, your dedication to the pursuit may be what inches you ahead of the pack.

Examine yourself… your work. Are you determined to see your hardback proudly displayed in a custom display unit in every Borders across the globe? Are you determined to take that plot that’s been festering in your mind and craft it into a screenplay? Are you determined to collect all your poetry into a nice paperback? Are you even determined enough to try? Destiny is waiting for your answer.

 Write more! Write Now!

J. Patrick Lemarr