Chasing Seagulls/ Writing for publication. Same difference

(picture borrowed from the National Aviary)

Yes. I've been to the beach again. The Carolina coast is pleasant this time of year. The ocean isn't swim-worthy. But it is great for playing in the sand and feeding the seagulls. I love watching small children chase the seagulls. They think they can catch them. Think they can run fast enough. Don't realize their reflexes are too slow and the gulls instincts are too sharp. Even the baby seagull that looked like a microwaved cotton ball was too swift for my tiny tot.

And of course . . . as any good writer would be inspired . . . my rusty think-mobile got to churning. Writers are kind of like seagull-chasing toddlers. We run after a lofty dream, we think we can write fast enough. Don't realize our skills aren't polished and the editors and agents instincts are too sharp. Even the fresh-out-of-college-interns are too well versed in Dickens, Twain and the Bronte sisters for our fresh/modern minds. We know we're brilliant, for crying out loud! What's taking everyone else so long in figuring it out too???? ;0D

Sometimes I wonder if people look at us like adults look at the toddlers on the shore. We smile, cock our heads and think "how cute" Perhaps they think adults should concern ourselves with real life instead of concocting stories. Maybe they think we aren't good enough. Maybe they don't understand that achieving publication takes years. . . most likely decades before our dreams are realized and think we're wasting our time.

And then I thought about People who raise, handle and even train birds for a living. They were once kids. Innocent toddlers chasing an impossibility. But the love and the joy of pursuit followed them from the crib into adulthood. They loved it. They realized their limitations . . . maximized their strengths and learned to handle a bird in ways that most of us never will. the love, determination, devotion to the craft. That's what turns the toddler into falconologists or various bird trainers. That's what turns a writer into an author.

I might have caputred a picture of my kiddo chasing a seagull. I'll probably add it to the post when I get home. :0)

I love the beach!! Inspiration lives here!