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Twenty years ago, when I started writing with the intention of being a published novelist, I read books, I joined organizations, I took classes, and I went to a weekly critique group. I did it all. I wanted to learn everything I could about writing and I somehow hoped that I would discover some magic or secret way to get published.

I found myself following advice that didn't fit me or my personality or my habits. I tried to find the Way of the Published Author through the methods that had worked for other writers. And I failed to use those tools effectively. We all know that the truth about publishing. The only way to get there is to write and to submit and to never give up. I write full-time for New American Library now, and it was a long road to reach my dreams of publication. I learned a few things about my own style as a writer, and a few things about staying inspired.

How you choose to bring your dream into reality how you choose to write, to submit, and to stay inspired, is up to you. Trust yourself. Sometimes, it's difficult to hear the inner voice. We let everything and everyone outside of us influence our decisions because we fear we're making the wrong choices.

Sophocles said, The only thing I know is that I know nothing. I interpret that as we should always be a blank slate. We should always be open to learning and to new ideas and to be unafraid to question established ways of doing things. Just because it's right for someone else, doesn't mean it's right for you. Most writers say they write because they have stories to tell and they want to share these stories with readers. This may be true, but it is not the only truth. Most writers write because they are intimately connected with the process of creating and expressing through the written word.

When we admit, "This is what I want," we have to prepare for two things. First, we have to work toward that goal. As my grandma used to say, If you pray for potatoes, you better grab a hoe. Second, we have to accept that how that desire is achieved may not fall within our current expectations.

Letting go is not easy. Change is uncomfortable, sometimes difficult, nearly always unwelcome. We need the jolt out of our complacency so that we can progress in life and in writing. We cannot escape that life carries sorrow and pain and terrible, terrible things. In Lessons of Love, Melanie Beattie wrote, Change is constant. But change wrought by some moments is more profound than others. Sometimes we turn

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