As a martial artist I have the opportunity to enrich lives of others. One way is by teaching them how to physically take care of themselves if they are ever in a threatening situation.
Whenyou’re trying to explain this concept to kids, however, they will tell you how they can take the bad guy out with one punch. To hear my six-year-old talk, he could take a three hundred pound man and pummel him to bits.
Thoughthat’s thinking big, perhaps it’s not that realistic. We teach the kids To run, scream, and make a scene. And why would you do that? To get away. To live to see another day, because the bad guy might get you if you don’t, and no one ever died of embarrassment if you happen to have misunderstood the situation.
Perhaps a drastic way of looking at your writing career, but don’t we do that too? Sure we do. Our three hundred pound bad guy, isn’t really bad at all, but just as scary and could crush us all the same. We know we have what it takes to write one book and make it to the top of that list. We think big.
But how many of us attack the big bad guy? We lurk in private places egging on the bad guy by writing our stories. We walk in dark alleys (aka, our offices while others sleep.) Only those we trust hear our secret whispers, “I’m working on writing a book.” We protect what’s ours, but then someone asks, “What’s it about?”
You’vebeen approached by the enemy. Danger is now looking you in the face. One option to deal with the enemy is to not tell them anything. Keep it hidden. Walk the alley at night. And what happens? Your manuscript has been crushed by the bad guy, and never sees the light of day. You’re not dead, but your dreams might be.
OR…you could run, scream, and cause a scene!
That’s right you could tell everyone what’s been happening in that alley. Bring it to the light and let them see. Run through the streets and let the world know you’re there. Someone might even ask to see this book you’ve been writing. And you might get embarrassed! It just might happen.
But remember, no matter whether you’re running from an attacker or putting yourself on display for the world to critique, no one has ever died from embarrassment.
Happy Reading!
Bernadette Marie
