NED

I've had an eraser on my desk for about a year now. I look at it every now and then, not always "thinking" about it. But today I did. It has a picture of this goofy guy's head (Ned) with the following words written on it:

N Never give up
E Encourage others
D Do your best

My son received the eraser at school at an assembly and I don't exactly know how it ended up on my desk at work, but it somehow did. I'm glad. The words are few but they pack a punch and should be everyone's mantra in life.

Never give up. As writers it's easy to give up. Sometimes we abandon projects because we can't get them right. Sometimes we take long hiatus' because we're full of self-doubt. One bad review can sink our conviction, our confidence. We just need to overcome those feelings and remember we're doing this for ourselves, not anyone else. Never give up.

Encourage others. By encouraging other writers, we not only build up their self-esteem, but we build connections, and form friendships. As I've learned in the past couple months, beta reading is not just helpful to the writer, but the beta reader as well. Personally, I gain inspiration from all my beta reads. One of my friends writes lyrical, beautifully descriptive sentences that flow off the page like silk. After I read her work, all of a sudden my own manuscript is infused with description I hadn't thought myself possible of. Another friend of mine has quirky, humorous charcters in her manuscripts. After doing a beta read for her, my own characters start making clever and witty quips. Beta reading allows you to grow as a well-rounded writer and helps bring out the shine in others' writing. Encourage others.

Do your best. To me, this is a no-brainer. If we didn't do our best, what's the point in doing it at all? Yes, everyone has weaknesses and everyone has room to grow. But doing your best is not just excelling in what you do well, but learning and improving on what you don't do well. Do your best.

If you keep NED in the back of your head, you'll go far like a shooting star. Hey I made a rhyme! :)