Sheryl McFarlane

One of the sucky things about being part of a literary jury is judging. I know, I know… that sounds crazy. Judging is supposed to be the point.  Separating out the bad from the good, the totally awesome from the not quite so awesome. But, it has a downside too. Let me explain…reading a big pile of books is wonderful.  Having an excuse to devote numerous hours every day to reading is my idea of bliss. I love reading. Of course I like some of the books in my pile better than others. And it’s true that I don’t like a few of the books I’ve read very much at all.  But the thing is,  every one of the writers of those books set out to write the best book that they could.  Every one of them created something out nothing.  That in and of itself is reason for celebration. So, even if your book doesn’t win awards, or doesn’t get those awesome reviews you were hoping for, don’t worry. Lots of people talk about writing a book, dream about writing a book, or even start writing a book.  Lots of them never get any further than that.  But, you did. You are a creator. Celebrate. And when you’re done celebrating, get back to work and keep on creating the best work that you can.

And speaking of creating, here is one awesome little video on creating and negative comments created by Vi Hart. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for creators who get discouraged. Thanks Vi.