Yay!  Today, Eve can be found anywhere books are sold.  Wow.  I almost want to go see it in on the bookshelves, but it’d be a bit desperate to show up at where I’ll be reading in a week, murmuring, “Oh, yes, I look exactly like that woman in the window!  What a coincidence!”  The caressing of the book covers probably wouldn’t go over so well.  The loitering by the five books in stock and exclaiming to passersby, “Wouldn’t you like to read this one?  I happen to know the author!” probably would scare them away, don’t you think?

Well, I’m celebrating.  I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that this was a very long road, and I was on the verge of quitting, not knowing if I had any language abilities at all.  Writing is a very lonely venture, mostly, at least for me, and I never quite know if I’m being objective about my work or not.  It’s art.  And as you know, when you see art pieces in a museum, you either like it or hate it (or are indifferent).  I’d rather my readers be the first two, because you want them to feel some emotion, even if it is distaste.

So, no brainy wise thoughts today, other than to tell you–you aspiring writers out there–that publication is possible.  It takes much grit and determination.  It takes reading lots of good books.  It takes critiquing your own writing with a ruthless, critical eye.  Never be sentimental about your own work, for the minute you are, you’ve stopped growing as a writer.  Chin up, in other words.

Here are some quotes from Winnie the Pooh to boost your spirits:

“The hardest part is what to leave behind….It’s time to let go!”

“Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.”

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”

“I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.”

“My spelling is Wobbly.  It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”

“Poetry and Hums aren’t things which you get, they’re things which get you.  And all you can do is go where they can find you.”

“If you want to make a song more hummy, add a few tiddely poms.”

Find some friends who will support you:

“Pooh, promise me you won’t forget me, ever.  Not even when I am a hundred.

Pooh thought for a little.

“How old shall I be then?”

“Ninety-nine.”

Pooh nodded.  “I promise,” he said.

And when it’s all said and done, Eeyore might disagree: “This writing business.  Pencils and what-not.  Over-rated, if you ask me.  Silly stuff.  Nothing in it.”

On what people might think of you: “When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.”

Be brave and courageous, my fellow writers.  Your time will come.