Endure to the End

I’m grateful for the reminder from M.R. Jordan that we need to pay it back and pay it forward. I don’t participate in chain letters, chain emails, or chain blog comments, but I did realize I need to be more active in the community of aspiring authors. So I went hunting and was dismayed at what I found. Do a Google search for aspiring author site:blogger.com. What you get are a lot of really discouraged people. Some of them are teenagers. Most of them have stopped blogging.

The good news is I did find a few gems:

• I quite like Tamara Linse's introspective comments.
• I was also unaware of Tabitha Olson and soaked up her Inspirational Quotes.
• Paula Margulies excellent advice on proper use of social media for building a platform was awesome.

In my church there is, of course, an emphasis on baptism and other ordinances. But there is also an emphasis on what we call “enduring to the end.” That is the hard part. It is always easy to begin a journey and be excited about the final destination. And it is always exciting to reach your goal. What too many people forget is the struggle you must endure to get there.

For any struggling writer or aspiring author: keep your head up and persevere. For my family and friends: if I ever talk about giving up on my writing, remind me of this post. Remind me to endure to the end.