“And when you are feeling lost in any way, remember that the home in your heart will guide you.”
ONE. I don’t remember if it was a tweet I read or a YouTube video I watched, but I do remember that the writer, John Greene, had explained he never sought to write NYT bestselling novels. Instead, he always aimed to write gifts for people. Each of his novels had a specific person in mind, someone he knew would love to read the story.
This philosophy changed my writing. It changed everything I thought about writing.
Create gifts for people.
TWO. One of my creative writing teachers, Alex Mindt, who wrote Male of the Species, told our class: If you’re a writer then you are a writer. Who cares what your day job is, that’s a day job. Tell everyone you are a writer and write for at least fifteen minutes every day.
And that is how I came to my index cards.
Putting both bits of advice into practice, I began spending fifteen minutes of every day trying to create gifts for people. At first I wasn’t sure for whom to make these gifts, and I really just stumbled into creating these little poems and thoughts. It started with one thought, one I wanted to express. It turned into a poem, and then another, and then another. It didn’t take long for me to realise I was creating these gifts for myself (and for anyone else who might need it).
Over the course of the past two years, these cards have reached five continents, and 11 countries. Friends have reached out to help leave cards in different countries. Then the photos started coming. Many my friends took before leaving the card, others from people who had found them. Then the messages started coming.
Very recently, I received a touching message, which is what prompted me to finally write a blog entry about the cards. More than being touched, the message was a reminder of why I do what I do and why I love to do it. So, without a publisher, without an agent, and without a plan to get either, I will keep writing because somehow my words are reaching the people who need to read them.
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The universe works in mysterious ways. #forevergrateful
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