"If You Don't See The Book You Want On The Shelf, Write It"
--Beverly Cleary
When Mike was about five years old, he came home from his grandma's house one day and realized that he had missed his favorite television show...again. He marched into his room to sulk and came out an hour later with an idea for a new invention. He wanted someone to figure out a way to tape shows for later watching. Although the VCR was actually invented in 1956, it wasn't ready for household use until the late seventies/early eighties. Mike had never heard of such a thing, but in this case, necessity was certainly the mother of his invention. We tease him to this day, about his million dollar idea.
We all have those great ideas, but it takes a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the world to put the ideas into action. It is not a superior intellect or unbelievable skill that makes the difference, it is confidence in one's self and a tremendous amount of determination. I am blessed with creativity, so the ideas for books flow freely through my brain. I am logical enough to come up with ideas for businesses and/or items that would enhance our lives. Before that first word hits the page, or that great idea takes shape, my lack of confidence causes me to put on the brakes. This lack then gets into an argument with my determination, and somehow the determination is KO'd in the first round.
Last year I decided to work on my confidence and force myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do. This blog is an example. I love reading and writing, and I often thought of doing this, but fear overtook desire. I forged ahead this time and am very glad that I did. I started to "market" it a bit, and my audience started growing. I know, through comments and correspondence, that I have readers from Europe and South America due to the wonders of the Internet. I even heard from a reader in India several months ago, but then my inner brakes took over again. I stopped reaching out to people and put my ideas for building this blog on a back burner. I could tell you that it is because of the stress of building a house and being "nomads" in my sister's beautiful house this year, but those would be "cop out" excuses.
So next year's new year's resolution is to shake up the confidence and determination that have been on a permanent vacation, and add more to this blog while building a bigger readership. Beverly Cleary is correct, and I am going to take her advice and live my life by writing my own "books!"
Speaking of writing books, John J. Davis decided to write an espionage thriller last year, and I think it was a successful endeavor. Blood Line introduces us to the Grangers, a married couple who both happen to be former CIA agents. Somehow Davis manages to humanize them and even throw in a teenage daughter to make sure his readers see more than just the typical stone-faced agent that populates most espionage novels. The story is exciting and flows well, and I had fun reading it this week.
Another good read this week was written by one of our frequent reviewers at Madderly Review. I was a bit nervous to read Worst in the World: International Football at the Bottom of the FIFA Rankings by Aiden Williams, because how could I tell him if I didn't like it. Wow! No worries there...it was really good. The subject matter was interesting and different...rarely does someone write about the bottom of the heap...and his is writing much more literate than most sports writers.
He obviously took a page out of Beverly Cleary's book and wrote the book he didn't see on the shelf. Now it is your turn to read it.
Happy reading
Beverly
--Beverly Cleary
When Mike was about five years old, he came home from his grandma's house one day and realized that he had missed his favorite television show...again. He marched into his room to sulk and came out an hour later with an idea for a new invention. He wanted someone to figure out a way to tape shows for later watching. Although the VCR was actually invented in 1956, it wasn't ready for household use until the late seventies/early eighties. Mike had never heard of such a thing, but in this case, necessity was certainly the mother of his invention. We tease him to this day, about his million dollar idea.
We all have those great ideas, but it takes a Bill Gates or Steve Jobs of the world to put the ideas into action. It is not a superior intellect or unbelievable skill that makes the difference, it is confidence in one's self and a tremendous amount of determination. I am blessed with creativity, so the ideas for books flow freely through my brain. I am logical enough to come up with ideas for businesses and/or items that would enhance our lives. Before that first word hits the page, or that great idea takes shape, my lack of confidence causes me to put on the brakes. This lack then gets into an argument with my determination, and somehow the determination is KO'd in the first round.
Last year I decided to work on my confidence and force myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do. This blog is an example. I love reading and writing, and I often thought of doing this, but fear overtook desire. I forged ahead this time and am very glad that I did. I started to "market" it a bit, and my audience started growing. I know, through comments and correspondence, that I have readers from Europe and South America due to the wonders of the Internet. I even heard from a reader in India several months ago, but then my inner brakes took over again. I stopped reaching out to people and put my ideas for building this blog on a back burner. I could tell you that it is because of the stress of building a house and being "nomads" in my sister's beautiful house this year, but those would be "cop out" excuses.
So next year's new year's resolution is to shake up the confidence and determination that have been on a permanent vacation, and add more to this blog while building a bigger readership. Beverly Cleary is correct, and I am going to take her advice and live my life by writing my own "books!"
Speaking of writing books, John J. Davis decided to write an espionage thriller last year, and I think it was a successful endeavor. Blood Line introduces us to the Grangers, a married couple who both happen to be former CIA agents. Somehow Davis manages to humanize them and even throw in a teenage daughter to make sure his readers see more than just the typical stone-faced agent that populates most espionage novels. The story is exciting and flows well, and I had fun reading it this week.
Another good read this week was written by one of our frequent reviewers at Madderly Review. I was a bit nervous to read Worst in the World: International Football at the Bottom of the FIFA Rankings by Aiden Williams, because how could I tell him if I didn't like it. Wow! No worries there...it was really good. The subject matter was interesting and different...rarely does someone write about the bottom of the heap...and his is writing much more literate than most sports writers.
He obviously took a page out of Beverly Cleary's book and wrote the book he didn't see on the shelf. Now it is your turn to read it.
Happy reading
Beverly
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