Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Have you ever had a dream you wanted to see fulfilled and thought, 'I wish I could do that, but it's just too big a project and I'm not sure if I've got what it takes'.

I've heard these or similar words so many times throughout my adult years that they got me asking myself why people think they can't achieve their dreams. If everyone thought that way we wouldn't have the wonderful inventions that help make our daily life easier.

The biggest reason most people have for not achieving their goals or dreams is because they can be frightened of failing, or worse still, succeeding. These are real fears and are at the extremes on the failing/succeeding scale, and they are ones that must be overcome if you're going to realise your dreams.

So how do we overcome these fears? The first question to ask yourself is how much do I want see this dream fulfilled? This seems like a simple question, but is it really? What's behind your thought process that you're wanting to achieve your goal? Am I doing it because I want fame? Is the goal going to change people's lives in some way? Or is it something I want to do to see if I've got what it takes to complete a big project? Am I doing it because I want more financial independence?

These are all legitimate questions, and each of them impact on how you approach the task of achieving the goal. You can work toward your goal but the journey to the ending is different in each scenario. Fame can be a wonderful thing if you seek attention, but what happens when you get bad attention, will the end be worth it and can you live with negative press? Changing people's lives is a noble thing to do and is a great legacy to leave behind for the next generation. There aren't too many negatives there. Working toward your goal to see if you've got what it takes is another good reason to be goal planning. In this scenario, it brings to mind my philosophy of life - nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you don't try, what hope is there of achieving.

When I wrote my first book all I saw was the end: 200 pages of text. Wow, how was I going to achieve that? If I was going to achieve the writing of the book, I told myself, to get writing and don't stop until I've reached the end. Okay, I started, and after a couple of hours of typing my story I'd thought I'd have several pages done. To my disappointment I'd only done a page and a half. My self-esteem was squashed and for several days I agonised of whether this writing caper was for me.

Many people go through this time of doubt. The project is so large they have no idea how long it's going to take and whether they have the time to do it. They become overwhelmed, but if you're meant to be working toward your goal the project will still be in your head nagging to be done and it won't go away.

If this is the case, you're meant to go ahead with your project, so be brave, step out and give it a go, but before you start think about your motivations for wanting to achieve the goal, because it's your motivation that will be a major part of whether you succeed or fail.

Until next time, think about your motivation and then we'll look at the best approach to take to achieve your goal. Leave me a comment to let me know your motivation or perhaps you need some help in clarifying what your motivation is.

Happy New Year

The first week of January is an exciting time for me as I reflect on the year that's closed and the one that's opening up before me. It's a time to think about whether I achieved my goals last year and why I may not have achieved them and what I want to achieve in the 360 plus days ahead.

2010 was a great year with my goals achieved, ie., African Hearts contracted, meeting many new friends, and my next book, Behind The Masks, working title, well on the way to completion. Also, surprisingly, one of my dreams was realised: we bought a caravan and we're now travelling around Australia; and my son became independent and moved in with friends. These last two were surprises, but nice surprises. Dan is managing very well, and so are Frank and I as we travel throughout Victoria.

My goals always include my writing goals and how I can improve my writing. This year, as I reflect on the mentorship I did last October, I want to continue to improve my plotting structure and my characters' motivations for acting as they do. By asking many more questions of my characters I believe I will get to know them at a deeper level in all facets of their lives. Questions like what makes them angry; who are the people who annoy them most and why; why do they like the particular genre of music they listen to; or read the books they read; and if they could have any occupation in the world what would it be; and many more questions to get to know them better. With getting to know the characters at a deep level makes them real three dimensional characters that my reader will be able to relate to and hopefully see them in the same way that I do.

Also on my list of goals for this year is encouraging others to reach their goals. During our travels around Australia I hope to come across others who have a passion they want to see fulfilled. Walking the journey with others in their chosen field to reach their goal is a passion of mine, although sometimes I can come across as a hard taskmaster. I have high standards for myself and I expect that high standard from others, too.

Sometimes we underestimate what it will take to achieve our goals, and it's so easy to become disheartened when the going gets tough. When the hill seems too steep, it's important to persevere no matter how slow the progress is. Believing what we are doing is the right thing for us is what will carry us through the dark moments as we strive for our goal. Everyone has these moments of doubt that sneak up on us when we least expect. We can be working well toward the goals when doubt hits us broadside leaving us disillusioned and wondering if we're meant to be going in that direction.

Hold fast when this happens! Don't be discouraged, and don't listen to negative comments that seem to come at you from all directions. For various reasons there are people in this world who may not want to see you succeed. Ignore those people. Instead, set you mind on the goal with greater determination than before, say no to distractions, and work until the goal is reached.

You are not alone in reaching for your dreams. Every person who wants to achieve faces highs and lows, it's how you deal with the highs and lows that helps you achieve your goals. During the next few months, I'll be blogging on how to overcome the patches of doubt that creep up when we least expect. Until then write to me and let me know when you're feeling lost on your journey to goaldom, and I hope I can encourage you to step out and continue to look forward.

Gina & Kam's Story

African Hearts by Laura O'Connell

At last, Rochelle and I have agreed on the cover for African Hearts. Here is a sneak preview for you so that it will catch your eye when it's in bookstores in April, or if there isn't a Koorong bookstore near you, you can pre-order from me by emailing me at my contacts page.

I believe it hints well at Gina and Kam's story, and shows the spirit of Africa.

April seems like such a long time away, but I'll keep you up to date with our travels. Only fifteen more sleeps before we hitch the caravan on the four-wheel-drive and we follow the bitumen to wherever God wants us to be.

This last week has been a time of reviewing the final manuscript for errors prior to it going to print. I hope we've found all the errors!

Light The Dark

Even Before Publishing, a division of Wombats, is a new Australian publisher that is passionate about Christian Books and all things that make for improving lives and helping build Australian creators. Principal, Rochelle Manners, is not only interested in publishing her own stable of authors' works, but she is also interested in selling good Australian fiction via her party plan, Light The Dark.

Light The Dark Mission Statement:

"Light the Dark aims to bring positive Christian and family friendly products, produced by Australians and New Zealanders, to consumers in an engaging party plan type environment. It is our mission to strengthen your walk with God through our products and uphold Christian principles in our business and community."

Light The Dark is a powerful ministry that brings people together in fellowship sharing about books and products that foster relationship building, and encourages our Aussie writers to be all they can be.

I've become a Light The Dark Representive because I believe in the Mission Statement. Even Before Publishing and Light The Dark is the beginning of an era that will encourage more and more Australians to be creative and be brave enough to send their creations out to the marketplace because Australians like seeing other Australians having a go.

If you want to learn more about Light the Dark go to www.lightthedark.com.au and be inspired to read good Australian fiction, or products made by talented Australians.

Mentoring

Three weeks ago I attended a writing mentorship in Adelaide. The week was a full-on intensive learning about novel structure and general editing. If you ever get the opportunity to do a writing mentorship, I encourage you take the time, and be open to learning all that you can.

Like most writers I know, I find it hard to be objective about my work. I can't see the problems with the work because I'm too close to it. During my week of mentoring I learned how to stand back from the writing and evaluate each sentence, paragraph, scene and chapter. I already know a lot of the weak areas in my work. I try and correct them as I go, but when I've revised it many times I go on auto-read so the words in my mind aren't necessarily the ones I've written on the page. In other words I read the words in my head instead of what's on the paper.

Before I went to the mentorship, I hadn't worked on the manuscript for two weeks. I approached the work with fresh eyes, and immediately I started to cringe as I found weaknesses in the work. My mentor, Meredith, found all my choppy sentences, unnecessary words, lack of character development, dialogue inconsistencies, holes in the plot and punctuation problems.

And I thought I had a fairly polished manuscript. Think again, Laura!

Being shown my mistakes was like a stranger telling me my child had many shortcomings and they were all bad. It hurt! So, by the afternoon of the first day, I knew my manuscript wasn't perfect and I had better prepare myself for more constructive criticism. I took a deep breath, prayed for patience and a thick skin, then I set to work to fix my 'problem child'.

By the end of the week, my manuscript had improved immensely. My sentences were a mixture of short and complex; my dialogue was more natural; my characters behaved according to the people they were; and the holes in my plot were fixed. When I arrived home I revised again, and to my delight, I found the quality of writing had gone up a knotch.

The mentorship was a great success. My editor allowed me to fail, but she also gave me the opportunity to make the writing better, and brought my skills as a writer to the next level.

Have you been involved in a mentorship in your field of work and gained from the experience? I'd love to hear about your experience and how it changed the way you work?