Eliminate the Buts by Karen Bell-Brege

 

What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do. – Timothy Ferriss

You want to create, but… (and there’s that ‘but’) there are so many excuses not to. Here are a few of the biggies, along with some ways to help you move past the ‘but’s’ toward following your goals and dreams.  

But I can’t help feeling overwhelmed… 

You dream of writing or illustrating a children’s book. It’s something you’ve wanted to do for, well, maybe as long as you can remember. If you recently attended the SCBWI-Michigan Spring Conference ‘Your Story Start to Finish’ you may have come away completely inspired to put your pencil to paper, fingers to the keyboard, brush to canvas or voice to recorder – whatever works for you to get your magnificent creative thoughts, words or sketches out. On the flip-side you may have come away disillusioned. Some of the stats were overwhelming. You may have heard agent Maria Vicente say she averages about 2000 query letters a month, and she’s still going through her inbox of submissions from October – and those are submissions she had requested! Other stats we’ve heard about, are those that are published it took them 2999 submissions to 900 agents and 42 years to get published. What? Seriously? No, but kind of…

Daunting, isn’t it? You may feel like everyone and their brother, and his brother and their half-brother from another mother, and distant cousin want to write or illustrate a book. That’s probably true... But they aren’t you. Somebody is going to get those publishing deals – so WHY NOT YOU?

A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms. – Zen Shin

But what if it’s no good? 

We all know we’re unique little flowers (yes guys, you too). Each and every one of us has irreplaceable, diverse talents we bring to the world. Therefore, if you have an undying urge, a nagging, no matter what you do it won’t go away and it always resurfaces – then it’s your calling. Plain and simple. You can no longer ignore it, you can’t bury it under a rug, or try to put it out of your mind, because you know it will come back. The tiny little voice reminding you that this is something you want to do, you need to do, so you have to do it. There’s no way around it. It’s the law of the universe. You have to share your special talent with the world.

Genius is 1% percent inspiration and 99 % percent perspiration. – Thomas Edison

But the competition is so fierce…

Please ask yourself, ‘Where isn’t it?’ Where on this planet, for anyone who wants to accomplish anything, is it not competitive? There’s not one profession that doesn’t have unlimited competition, especially in the arts – actors, dancers, comedians, artists, writers, directors, producers, and equally in sports, for inventors, even You Tubers. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s in anything worth doing. That’s part of the dream. It’s the way the universe tests you to see if you’re serious. This wonderful message came across loud and clear from some of the conference presenters – don’t give up, don’t compare yourself to others, don’t take your Barbie and go home (okay, maybe they didn’t say anything about Barbie). Hang in there, build the best damn dollhouse you can and share it with the world. There will be one agent or editor who sees your vision and you connect with. They’re out there for you. Because you’re never given a dream without being able to make it happen. Another rule of the universe. 

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – C. S. Lewis

But I can’t do it…

How many times have you started, and then you stop? You know there’s laundry to do, the dog needs to be let out, the deck needs to be painted, you have to find a Goat Yoga class, you need a cookie. You were off to a great start, then you made excuses. But there are little signs that will encourage you to keep going, if you look for them. Maybe you see or hear your name somewhere, and then the word writer or artist shows up shortly after. Maybe a song comes on the radio about following your dreams or being strong. Did you see or hear the signs? If you ignore them, then you are ignoring what you’re meant to do. Your dreams are calling out to you, luring you to pursue your passion. Don’t ignore the signs. They’re telling you to do whatever it takes. Whether you need to have someone tie you to a chair, or you need to lock yourself in a room with a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign, or maybe it’s by promising yourself a treat (Mmmm… ice cream). Do whatever it takes.

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. – T. S. Eliot

But I don’t know how…

Then reach out. You are a member of this wonderful organization. There is so much information, so many writing and critique groups, from motivation and guidance to actual ‘how to.’ Our SCBWI-MI leaders (Carrie & Jodi) and numerous volunteers have years of experience, and they are always here for you. Just go to https://michigan.scbwi.org/for-members-only/ for unlimited resources. Join the MichKids Listserv, read the wonderful Mitten blog posts – (oh, wait, you are!). Our magnificent leaders will tell you if they can do it, you can do it. This wonderful quote from Barb Rosentock at the conference should inspire you, “Publishing is a business and the way you get through the challenge is by time and effort. It’s not magic, there is no magic involved.”

The only magic that you have to believe in, is the magic of yourself.   I know people who started out creating for only five minutes a day. Start with those teeny-tiny steps, something doable – not overwhelming. Set a timer, guaranteed you will turn it off and keep going.

To succeed in life, you need two things ignorance and confidence. – Mark Twain

But what will I do with my work? 

There are so many avenues to getting your work out into the world. Whether traditional publishing or self-publishing, find what’s best for you. Don’t give up. Do this for you, because you have to. Don’t be one of those people in old age who has one regret of something they didn’t do. Take it from Scotty P, “NO RAGRETS” not even in his spelling (from the kid in the movie We’re the Millers). This is your calling. It’s in your DNA. The world needs your creative genius, plus you need to do this for you. Now enough ‘buts’…except for the one you’re going to put in your chair.

Karen Bell-Brege is an author, comic, voice-over artist and public speaker. She (along with her illustrator husband Darrin) is the Michigan Reading Association’s 2021 Gwen Frostic Award Winner. Karen is also the author of 14 bestselling children’s books, both picture books and chapter. She has also written for the MEAPS and ELAP tests, and did copywriting for numerous companies. She has done voice-overs for Hasbro and Universal. She is also a Telly Award recipient. Karen’s motto is, if it’s not fun then what’s the point? As a team, Karen and Darrin collaborate on numerous projects, and they love to make people laugh. They have a very creative son they adore, and they happily live, love, and laugh in the mitten. And, on occasion, Karen has been known to tie herself to her chair.

Learn more at https://karenanddarrin.com/.