Thursday 15 April 2010

Eight? I'm nearly at 100!

Dizzy with the realisation that with just eight more Followers I'd hit the magic 100, I wanted to post how pleased I am people stop by to read my  thoughts about life and writing - not necessarily in that order. And I am thrilled.

I went looking for an image which summed up how I felt about the journey to writing. I found so much more than that. Richard St John is obviously a very wise man: he identified eight traits that lead to success.If you love this image as much as I do you'll be glad to know free downloadable images, in a range of formats, are available on Richard's Blog.

Whenever I'm presented with rules I like to look for the greatest amongst them, I have really struggled to pick just one of these traits as the greatest. After an internal monolgue I'm glad I don't have to type up, I selected Passion as my premier trait. I love reading - thought the power of the written word could not be surpassed - then I discovered the thrill of creating worlds and people to inhabit them, writing is my passion.

Which of these eight traits, which could lead to the great success of becoming a published author, do you believe is your greatest strength?

14 comments:

  1. Hi Elaine, let me congratulate you on gaining one more follower today(me!)

    I don't have hopes of becoming a published author some day, but one of the traits are the reason I began writing to my blog.

    To Improve.

    My writing, my communication skills and myself.

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  2. I think I'd have to say it's a tie between passion and ideas.

    But hey, go you almost to 100! I hit that 2 days ago and am still reeling. It's such a heady feeling knowing 100 people read what you have to say.

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  3. Passion all the way. It's what drives the other 7 traits.

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  4. Elaine--This is great! I think for me, the primary trait is "persist".

    I recently realized, looking back, that I have to fail at something and then come back to it to fully get a grasp on what I'm after--so persistence helps.

    Congrats on your followership! You'll be there before you know it.

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  5. I agree with Piedmont, for me it's between passion and ideas, with passion slightly squeaking by ahead.
    Congrats on making it nearly to 100! I'll be there soon too I hope!

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  6. Congrats Elaine - and I love the image. I think it's passion for me too. It's tough to decide though - they all have a part!

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  7. Hi Hevin, Anne, Wendy, Jon Paul, Lydia and Jemi

    I think it's fascinating that passion, ideas and persistence came out ahead as the drivers.

    The spark of an idea needs to be nurtured by someone passionate enough to commit to it and see it through to the ultimate goal. In most cases that would be getting the thing published so others can be passionate about it too.

    It has to be said - improve would be next on my list of traits for additional attention ;)

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  8. I love the picture. I've got to say persist is my prime quality that I hope will bring me to publication. We shall see.

    I'm following you now and hope you meet your goal soon!

    Blessings,
    Carla
    http://writingtodistraction.blogspot.com

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  9. I also feel it's a combination of passion and ideas. I'm not sure which order they should be in. Some of my ideas give me a real passion to turn them into something. Sometimes it's the other way around. Love the list though and the image is really neat.

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  10. I'm going to say passion as well. Without it, one probably wouldn't take the time and dedication needed to craft great books.

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  11. Hi Carla
    Thanks for dropping by and stopping to Follow too.
    I agree that persistence is most definitely needed if a writer wants to get their work taken up by an agent.
    Yes Rena you obviously got stuck in the same loop I did - passion/ideas or ideas/passion? ;)
    Crimey I see you went with passion - a popular choice :)
    Passion I interpreted as belief too - passionate about the idea and belief in the idea that the great success of getting published could be possible.

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  12. I am a persist, too. It is definitely the hardest one for me, so I will take that one. But they are all one, right? They are all a balance, a cycle that we move on and through. I'm going over for the graphic, too. I love printing out things like this, putting on the bathroom mirror and letting them sink in and inspire.

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  13. Elaine,
    I just wanted to say that I am so happy to have found your blog!
    I would have to choose passion. It pushes me towards most of the others on the list.

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  14. Elaine--I liked this one so much, I included it in my Link Love post today. Thanks for putting it up.

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