Little Read Writing Hood (or Writing Gratitude)
Full disclosure: my title has nothing to do with this post; I just liked the sound of it. 
I, like many others these days, have been pondering how much I have to be grateful for, despite the current difficulties surrounding us. For today’s post, I’m focusing on reasons to be grateful as a writer, published or not. Why am I grateful? Let me count a few of the reasons:
1. I write stories, mostly long and a few short, that make me feel good. I’m grateful for that marvelous fluttery feeling! I fill my stories with interesting characters, I hope, that are learning and growing to be better people, which is what I aspire to be myself. Sometimes, I slip life lessons onto my pages or find ways for my characters to discover or display virtues like courage, kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness. Virtues I hope to make shine in my own, everyday life.
2. My writing makes my mother happy and a few others happy too, which I find so heartwarming. I wish I had the magic power of making people feel good all the time. Meanwhile, I practice.
3. I’m not quite sure how it happens (besides spending long hours and thinking-heavy time in the desk chair), but my books get finished somehow, for which I’m exceptionally grateful.
3a. I’m truly grateful to be a published author, and remind myself that it wasn’t that long ago when I wasn’t yet “out there.” This helps me to remember to carry on, even when I don’t want to because it’s not going as well as I’d like. Pre-publication, I reminded myself that if I carry on, I could be published one day, and that fueled my writing engine. I’m grateful I talked myself into continuing on.
4. The fervor that accompanies writing spills into other endeavors and helps me to believe I can accomplish a task that may seem challenging. I am grateful each time I make the attempt, even if it’s not entirely successful. I tried! Anything is possible when we make the effort.
