You might even go and do everything else you can possibly do to support that notion. It's helpful, but the mountain is still way in the distance.
I have always enjoyed creativity in many forms. Some years ago I concluded writing was top of my list.
In regard to that I looked at what I felt confidant about- I loved writing, I believed I had ability, I had enthusiasm and I wanted to be a published author. All good.
I looked at what I thought I had against me- I knew no other writers, I didn't know much about the industry, I didn't know where to start, I wasn't sure who I wanted to write for, I wasn't sure exactly how good my work was.
All the things I thought stood between me and being published I worked on- I joined writer and author societies, I made writer friends, I attended work-shops and courses, I talked to authors, I had manuscript appraisals, I read books on writing and publishing, I looked up things on the Internet.
At the end of that, I finally felt I knew what I was doing, who I wanted to write for, how good my writing was and I knew all the steps I needed to take to get published. Now I only had to write!
Of course I wrote little snippets regularly and I'd written some children's stories. I had a few ideas for novels.
People encouraged me- friends, family, industry professionals. All green lights. Then the biggest green light flashed in my face- A YEAR OF TIME. That's right, all my complaints about struggling to write amid part-time work and family life ceased to be a reason. I had a whole year ahead of me and I envisioned the novels, plural, I would get finished and return from my year, ready to knock on a publishers door with their new bestseller. I couldn't wait!
After some initial busyness caused by moving abroad, I finally got down to writing. A Few months had passed but I still had loads of time. And I did write. Some days.
I had a few obstacles I'm sure didn't speed my progress- writing is an isolated occupation and outside of that I had little social life (living in a new country). I was living in a new country I wanted to see, not from the window. Also, I had left behind more or less my little network of writer friends.
My progress was slow and I lost my focus. My days of writing slipped. I was frustrated and grumpy and had no one to discuss my work with. Suddenly I was two thirds through my writing year and wasn't anywhere near the goals I hoped to achieve. I hit a really creative low-point.
I read some inspiring and soul searching books and was starting to feel enthused and hopeful again when lo and behold the opportunity to have a three month mentorship jumped out onto the path before me. It seemed like the exact thing that I needed and I jumped at the idea.
This turned out to be the MOST VALUABLE STEP in my whole long flight of creative stairs.
I mean, I have had some brilliant epiphany's along the way and over the years, but their value is somewhat diminished if these trees we build never bear fruit.
During the next three months my mentor, Karen ( http://www.karenscottboyd.com/home ) spoke with me every week by phone and mail. These sessions were formal but I could contact her more or less whenever I needed by email.
Some of my sessions with her were practical- how to get the writing actually done, and other sessions were more holistic and looked at the mind, body and spirit focus of what I was doing- my health, my thoughts, my habits, my attitude.
Karen brought me very gently along, supporting my work with genuine interest and encouragement and providing me with invaluable new tools to bring out the professional writer in me. At the end of the three months, not only had I done more writing in a set time than I had ever done in my life, but I understood myself a lot better and was working more steadily than I had ever managed before towards my goals.
I finally have a completed manuscript AND, Karen helped me put together a cover letter for an agent, plus helped me think about marketing and several other areas for the future I hadn't even thought about. She helped prepare me, not just to be a productive writer, but a successful author.
And, I learnt how to do all these things for myself, so that I could keep going once my time with my mentor was done.
I simply couldn't ask for more (except of course if she had also been head of a publishing house;)
Unless you are lucky enough to have a very good friend in the industry, I can't think of anyone more valuable to help you reach your goals than a mentor- especially one who specialises in helping creative people.
If you've ticked all the other boxes, or are in the middle of doing so because that's all you can seem to get out of yourself, then I cannot more highly recommend the use of a mentor- in fact wouldn't it be great if we all just had one anyway? Just think what we might achieve!
