Purple Hearts

Each year I try to start my Christmas shopping earlier but the intention has resulted in the opposite desired effect - I find that in trying to get everything done in advance, the actual shopping task takes me longer to complete and it also takes me longer to get into the holiday spirit.  I’m slowly starting to come around, thanks in part to my favorite things that I associate with this time of year:

I am writing this blog in the few minutes I have before I have to get ready for one of my new traditions – off to see the Nutcracker!  I started going a few years ago and try to see a production of it every year.  It always makes me feel festive.

Toys for Tots. My heart breaks when I think about the families whose children won’t have a new toy to open on Christmas morning.  Last year I bought a few toys for this cause, and it’s one of the things that I most look forward to doing again this year.  I can’t wait to go toy shopping!

The Salvation Army bell ringers.  These people stand outside stores, ringing their bells in yucky weather as more rude people than not pass by their collection bowl.  I’m not saying that anyone has to donate money to this cause, but a polite smile and a kind word for these volunteers might give them a little warmth on a cold night.  This cause makes me wish I had more disposable income to spread around.

Holiday movies – I love the movies from my childhood, my absolute favorite being A Year Without A Santa Claus.  But for me, nothing beats Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.  My favorite version stars George C. Scott.

Christmas lights.  I could drive around for hours and look at lights, trees, wreaths, and bows.  I so appreciate the time and effort (and expense) that people put into decorating their homes each Christmas. 

Holiday music.  I’ve had my Christmas carols playing since early November.  My favorite holiday tunes are the classics by Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and the Vince Guaraldi Trio.  But nothing beats hearing Nat King Cole croon The Christmas Song.

Bowl Games.  It’s bittersweet for me to see the college football season come to an end, but at least it does so in such a fun and frenzied way. 

The first snow, which I think is beautiful and magical and peaceful . . . and now that we’ve had it I’m ready for Spring!  Baby, it’s cold outside!

A few extra days off.  And I can’t wait!  I’ll spend some of this free time with my family but I also look forward to having an uninterrupted block to take care of the life maintenance that I’ve put on hold and to also make some significant writing progress.  It may sound oxymoronic to want to take vacation so I can look forward to getting to work, but that’s where I’m at.

Here’s hoping you’ll find time to write while enjoying your favorite things of the season.

 -Jessica 

It has been a crazy year. And not just for me. Every time I turn around, someone I know and/or love is going through something major. I’m an HSP (highly sensitive person) so to know that so many people in my little microcosm of the world are going through so much is a little overwhelming - magnify that random sample times the millions of people around us and you can pretty much guess that fairly large numbers of people everywhere are going through some serious . . . stuff.

I’ve mentioned a few times during the course of this blog that I love to read, so when the going gets tough I turn to words. Bria and Meg and I often commiserate, and our shared gripes led us to start a little Jack club - and by Jack, I mean Jack Canfield. I immediately started reading Jack’s “Success Principles” book and felt inspired. Bria encouraged me to try “The Power of Focus” and we started doing the exercises in the chapters together. We created a new verb for what we were doing - she would call me and say, “Are we going to Jack this week?” We even set up our own little Yahoo group among the three of us where we had planned to Jack each Thursday.

Then life and writing and other obligations interrupted our Jack progress, so we’ve tabled our Jacking each week until we all have the flexbility to devote more time to it. Even though we aren’t actively Jacking at the moment, there are some principles that have stayed with me and that I practice every day.

In both books Jack advocates for an attitude of gratitude. To be grateful for things big and small. To recount, at the end of each day, at least five things from that day for which you are thankful. In Jack’s world, an attitude of gratitude is intrinsically linked with the Law of Attraction - if you are thankful with pure intention and genuine gratitude, good things will come your way. I may not have yet reached the pinnacle of where I want to be, but I can say that I notice a big difference in the way I feel when I consciously work gratitude into my thoughts rather than let the nasty comments dominate my internal dialogue. (Not that I am nasty, but a good example of this internal dialogue often rears it’s head when I’m driving, as Bria can attest. Too many jack*sses have somehow qualified for the license to operate some really heavy and potentially dangerous machinery.)

But I digress, as I am wont to do. Where was I?

Right, the attitude of gratitude. So with Thanksgiving already upon us, we thought we might take this week on the blog to talk about what we’re grateful for this holiday season.

I truly am grateful for the blessings in my life, of which there are many. And here are some, in no particular order:

Family and friends. I learned early on in my life to tell the people you care about how much you really care about them because you never know when you’re going to get another chance. I don’t take them for granted and I love them intensely with my whole heart.

So it is in this spirit that I share my thanks with Meg and Bria for embarking on this blog venture with me. When we talked about the possibility of the Purple Hearts in early spring, I had no idea how it would evolve or what it would come to mean to me. It’s been a great endeavor, and I thank you ladies for sharing it with me (and for so many other things!).

My health. And I know that item might be the most trite thing to say when it comes to gratitude, but trust me - you don’t realize what it means to be healthy until you find out you’re not. One of my favorite blogs, I Slept with Robert DeNiro . . . But About My Cancer is written by a television writer who was diagosed with cancer earlier this year. She writes a very honest, at-times painful, and poignant blog about her experiences, but her sharp sense of humor makes it a must-read.

Natural Beauty. There’s this tree outside my bedroom window and I could lay in my bed and stare at it for hours. It’s magnificent. Or the sunset out my back door. Or a wild, windy gray day (my favorite). Or mild temperatures on a bright sunny day where the brilliant natural colors and comfortable warmth and mixed inherent sounds and sweet smells all make me feel like I’m living in HD. Plug in a little Bach and I could sit in the middle of a field and feel like I was in church.

Little Things. Like a series of green lights on my drive to work in the morning. Something as mundane as my bed. Or something unexpectedly thoughtful as someone who holds the door for the next person. Or a genuine thank you. Kindness goes a long way.

My most precious possessions. These would have to be my books! I am an addict, but I can’t help but be grateful for my love for reading. I can’t imagine getting by without it.  

Uanswered Prayers. If I had gotten what I thought I once wanted, I would now most likely be heavily medicated and living in Guam. Things have a way of working themselves out for the better . . . even if you can’t see the why of it at the time.

Perspective.

Unexpected Surprises.

And I am grateful when I arrive safely at my destination at the start and end of each day. I watch some of these drivers around me, and they just re-affirm my belief that there is a higher power much greater than any of us. It’s a miracle that more near-misses don’t result in fatal crashes and I am more grateful than I can say when I know that my loved ones and I have made it safely through another day.

Be careful out there! Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving - may you have lots to be thankful for this holiday season and throughout the new year.

-Jessica

My HALO friend once asked me what it was that I wanted out of life and on that same day Publishers Marketplace announced the latest deal news for Susan Elizabeth Phillips. (The news was a whopper!) And I said to myself, Ah! What better way could I explain my lofty hopes and goals than to use SEP as my ideal example?!

But the more time I’ve had to think about it, the more I have kind of morphed my perfect ideal to where it’s a mash-up of two fan-worthy women — my ideal would be to become equal parts SEP and equal parts Nancy Meyers.

Nancy Meyers directed the movie, What Women Want, and is the screenwriter and director for movies such as Something’s Gotta’ Give, and The Holiday (among others).

I just love the stories that both of these women tell. And there’s a line in the movie The Holiday that prompted me to write this post on this week’s topic, heroines.

In the movie, Kate Winslet plays this unlucky-in-love woman named Iris and so as not to spoil the story for those of you who haven’t seen it (I won’t mention any names - ahem- Bria) I won’t divulge too much information other than to say that Iris doesn’t know just how much of a gift she is and it’s not until a mentor character accuses her of being a supporting character in her own life that she starts to work to come into her own.

I loved that analogy.

That phrase has become kind of a timely mantra for me, whether I use it to think about the heroines in my WIPs or, more recently, in relation to the entry I posted last week on motivation.

While the WIPs can be tough cases to crack, there are at least tools at our disposal to help identify the starring roles that our heroines can play.

Tami Cowden has a number of great resources, as found in the Heroine Archetypes section of her web site and in her book, The Complete Writer’s Guide to Heroes and Heroines. If you get stuck in this aspect of your writing, consider this craft book a must-have.

Don’t forget the Classical Heroines from Mythology, and while reading over the content on this web site, the following phrase caught my eye:

Being skilled with the weapon is not the only requirement to being a brave heroine. Some of these are women who show great courage, through ability to survive great hardship, make great sacrifice or face death unflinching as any male hero.
Timeless Myths

When I read this phrase, I can’t help but think that these words apply to all of us women - the words themselves are timeless. While we may not be out there fighting the physical clash one would normally associate with battle (as our brave women in uniform do), we do endure other untold battles of our own. And when put in the context of writing, these words take on a new level of meaning . . . at least for me.

I can see where our weapons are our words and voices. To write a book takes courage, but to share something so personal with the hopes of shoe-horning it into the publishig machine takes a set of brass body parts. To complete such a project often takes great sacrifice and the ups and downs of the business can create as much hardship as they do joy.

And that’s one of the reasons why I so admire Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Nancy Meyers. These women have figured it out and have made it work for them. In relation to my entry I posted last week on motivation, I think the base of my frustration is that I haven’t yet figured out what it is for myself.

But it’s been funny - the odd kind - how over this past week I have started feeling better about the prospect of things. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working like a fool on my NaNo pages each day. Maybe it’s because I got some brutal and unexpected closure on a painful issue I hadn’t realized I’d left open. Maybe I have started coming into my own and am now looking for my starring role. Maybe I am taking steps in the right direction and am closer than ever to realizing what it is.

All I know is that I think of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Nancy Meyers as heroines because they have worked so hard and been so successful in creating their own starring roles. And I want to be just like them.

It only takes, on average, ten years to be an overnight success and every step in the right direction counts. (Getting Unstuck)

So whether it be in your writing or in your real life, get your girl power on this week!

-Jessica

There is a story told about the late Sir Lawrence Olivier, when co-starring in a West End show with a leading Hollywood actor. The American actor, a successful student of method acting, was having difficulty getting into role. After several unsuccessful attempts at a particular scene, the star held up the cast and production while he roamed about the stage muttering ‘what’s my motivation here?’. Sir Larry put up with this for a while and then approached him. “Look, your motivation here is you’re being paid ten times as much as the rest of us. And my motivation is just to get through the bloody thing!” (British Dental Journal (2003), 195)

As an unpublished author, I can’t help but echo ‘Sir Larry’s’ sentiments - a published author is getting paid [much more] than I am and, when working on my current wip, I at times can’t help but feel that I just want to get through with the bloody thing!

So without the paycheck at the end of my writing rainbow, what’s my motivation to write?

Well, each morning when my alarm clock goes off I could just cry. I don’t want to climb out of my new poofy, warm, red, fengshui-inspired bedding to begin yet another day of monotony. Especially when I could so easily stay at home and write with my laptop, clad in my pajamas while curling up in that nice, new, poofy bedding.

But I digress . . .

I have a day job at a decent workplace with some great people. I have two master’s degrees and work in a decent job doing what I was trained to do. I have medical and dental benefits, a retirement plan, and a fair amount of vacation time. These workplace deals just don’t come around as much as they used to.

But I am So. Un. Ful. Filled.

I know, boo-hoo.

When that alarm goes off I would much rather look forward to a day spent tearing my hair out at my keyboard rather than playing some cog in someone else’s unappreciative machine.

I do have some amazing co-workers. I met my best friend at my current workplace (you’ll get to meet him as he’s going to post in my place when it comes time for my turn during our monthly open-topic blog week at the end of November) and I cannot imagine my life without him in it. Talk about a workplace benefit.

I have another friend who helps me get through the daily mundane. We’ve bonded over the fact that we have major interests outside of our workplace and, more often than not, we share in the feeling that our days actually begin when we leave the building and drive out of the staff parking lot.

His philosophy is that the respective professional positions we hold at our workplace are more-or-less our waiter jobs . . . and having lived in Los Angeles, I know exactly what he means by his anology. So many people in LA wait tables or play hostess because they need to have the flexibility to audition while also being able to pay the bills. Their waiter jobs feed their needs while they pursue their truer passions.

I am not a reckless risk taker so I have yet to reach the point where I feel that I can suffer (that much) for my art. I am good at my job and need it to live and am in no position to quit. And if I have to work somewhere, at least I am at a place with kindred spirits that help feed my happiness . . . and a place that pays my bills and lets me, in my spare time, pursue the life I truly hope to live.

So, back to my week’s topic . . . What’s my motivation here?

With no disrespect to food service workers everywhere, I don’t want to be a ‘waiter’ all my life. It’s just not where my heart lies. Remove the ‘a’ and replace it with an ‘r’ and that’s what, in my heart, I’d rather be doing. I love words and I write just because it’s in me. I sometimes lose sight of that love when I’m standing at the bottom of the hill and I’m trying to take clean, deep breaths as the crap continues to roll down. I am glad that Meg picked this topic this week - I needed to be reminded of what my motivation is.

What’s yours?

Have a great writing week!
-Jessica

You may note that I’ve taken down my blog and reposted for my turn on Wednesday. 

Here’s why: I’m having a horrible week. I’m not going into it because the people who know me MUST be sick of me bitching about this one specific thing. It shall not be mentioned. 

INSTEAD – I’m looking for reader input. A name. A story. An event. Anything to turn the tide of bitterness. Any uplifting story that stays in your emotional toolkit. What famous person (writer/artist/musician/heck, at this point I’ll even take politicians/etc.) has had a Guardian Angel moment with you.  

Anything counts from mentoring to just an encouraging word. Please! I need to hear about the love! Where has it gone, where is the love? 

Uplift me so I don’t feel so overwhelmed J 

Then Go Write
-bria

“The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have friends who have a pretty significant reward structure in place so they always have a carrot dangling out there to help drive them towards their figurative destinations. I’ve tried to motivate myself in this way but it just doesn’t seem to work. I tend to cave and indulge in the ’something extra’ that was to serve as my reward.

As I reported last week, I am struggling with the whole concept of story. The manuscript I just finished feels as though it has less a story arc but rather follows the frenetic jerk of a polygraph - my ‘arc’ feels just a bit too jagged. And if I let it get to me, it robs me of the joy. So when it doesn’t feel as though the writing is going well, just about everything else feels yucky.

I’ve printed out this vexing manuscript of mine and have planted it in the middle of my kitchen table to serve as my constant reminder to mold and shape it. And the stack of paper cuts me both ways.

Knowing this tall stack needs so much work puts a bit of dread in the pit of my stomach. But when I pass by all those pages as I get ready for work or make my dinner or sort my mail, a little flicker of satisfaction sparkles in my insides. I wrote that. It may feel like a jumbled mess when I try to dissect it in my head, but it’s my mess.

And while there are times that I hate it, I also absolutely love it.

Seeing the pages stacked up is my reward. It may take a long time for me to arrange all the words necessary to accumulate the appropriate number of pages, but the finished product gives me a satisfaction like no other. Those reminders come few and far between, but if I can up my productivity I know I can positively affect that cycle.

Every word counts! So whether you write 10 minutes or 10 pages a day, do your thing and do it well! As Bria often reminds me, the reward will be in just doing it.

Have a great writing week!

And I hope you will join us tomorrow when our Honorary Heartlette for October, Linda Rettstatt, will be with us.

-Jessica

I’m going to put the standard disclaimer right here. Right at the top where no one can miss it: THE IDEALS PRESENTED IN THIS POST ARE STRICTLY THOSE OF BRIA. ALL JUDGMENTS AGAINST SAID IDEALS SHOULD BE SENT DIRECTLY TO: opinionstobeignored@yahooo.com. 

I have a difficult time reading sex scenes – so I highly doubt I could write them. It isn’t that I have a problem with them being there, it’s just that those characters have become so real it feels intrusive to join them in bed, or on the desk, or in the library, or. . .oh, you get the point. So writing them, ah yeah, I’m not sure I could take my hands away from my eyes to type what was going on. 

In my writing world, I have friends who write erotica. Good for them, I have no problem with that being your thing. Just don’t ask me to critique it, you won’t get anything useful as I blushingly skim 90% of your book.  Beyond that, my other life spills into this sometimes as well.

OK, the big confession. Ready? Here it is: I am a Christian. Dun Dun Dah.  

Now, I hear all those preconceived notions rushing through your head. But really, how many Christians do you know well (besides the crazy one standing on the corner you pass everyday going to work yell ‘The End Is Near?’) Do you really know the person who is trying to live a good and faithful life without the signs and the finger pointing? 

In this other life of mine, I work in youth ministry – even this year, as I take time off, I’m continuing to mentor girls one-on-one.  And here are the questions I ask myself:  If one of my kids got a hand on my books, would this scene cause embarrassment or shame? Would it — through imaginary people — give them the wrong idea of how I live my life?  

It’s hard to ignore those questions when a thirteen year old looks at you and says, when I grow up, I want to be Bria. (I try to refrain from saying ‘Dude, even I don’t want to be Bria.’) 

Will there never be on-page sex in my books? I don’t know. Right now, it isn’t right for me or the people in my life. 

After saying that, what I’m writing now may still be seen as crossing the line. My YA Fantasy delves into my own beliefs, but coming at it around the back and through a window — looking at the components of Faith (as well as Love and Womanhood) by using a divided nature goddess to move the themes. 

Hey, Lewis had his Lion, Tolken had his Ring, I have my Moon nymphs. Get over it. (Said very humbly in light of who she is mentioning.) 

So, while I won’t (or can’t) write sex, I will push the way people think about their faith. Not as a form of disrespect, but as a challenge. I have a lot of respect for people who live by their beliefs (any beliefs) in truth and faithfulness. Standing true to what you believe is hard, but everyone does it to some extent. Some do it for faith reasons, some for moral, some on principle. But we all do it, we all have that line. 

Find your line. Draw it in dark black tar. Live by it. 

Go Write-bria

I’m cranky today, what I now call my artistic temperament (better than saying it’s PMS or bitchiness) so I decided to go for a bit of levity in this blog post. Perhaps not as useful as last week’s dialogue tags, but hopefully you’ll smile. Some days we have to remember, writing is meant to entertain. I hope this does…

Words Women Use:

1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with Nothing usually end in Fine. (Refer back to #1 for the meaning of Fine.)
4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t do it!
5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word , but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of Nothing.)
6.) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you –do not question, or faint. Just say you’re welcome.
8.) Whatever: Is a woman’s way of saying YOU ARE AN IDIOT!!!
9.) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking “what’s wrong”; and for the woman’s response to be, “nothing”. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of Nothing.)

All joking side, my second purpose in posting this is to show how people/ readers can interpret dialogue differently. This is why it’s important to use dialogue tags to illustrate emotion (especially sarcasm) or deep thought to give a clue into the character’s mind. After all, you want your hero to interpret your heroine’s words/behaviors correctly, right?

-Meg
(and I wish I knew where this originated to give credit, please don’t sue. It was forwarded in an email from a good friend who knows a good laugh is essential for a healthy daily existence)

WRITERS DON’T TAKE VACATIONS

Hi everyone! Thanks to the Heartlettes for letting me join the blog today! They’re wonderful women, dedicated to writing and I’m honored to be here.

So, it’s still summer for one more month…sunshine, the pool, the beach. I’m so thrilled to be having several little “time offs” during August. But will I really be shutting off my writer’s mind?

My parents owned a farm with chickens, cows, pigs, cats, dogs, and goats. It was always a challenge to take time off as a family, because my father always said, “Animals don’t take vacations.” I feel that way as a writer. To me, there’s never a moment when I’m not at least thinking about writing.

I’m always developing characters, plots, and dialogues in my head. When I’m in a work meeting, when I’m commuting, when I’m in the shower, or cooking dinner. The writing is always there at the forefront.

I just turned in a manuscript for my upcoming sorority series. Edits are done and we should have final titles and covers soon. The series, itself will be branded SORORITY 101. I’ve enjoyed writing them and I hope you’ll pick them up and enjoy them, too. I’ve been spending my summer working on some new proposals. Characters who have been tapping at my brain and begging for me to write them. They wake me up in the middle of the night and start talking to me during that Thursday morning staff meeting. They’re always with me. It’s kind of been like this for me since as long as I can remember.

When I was little, I used to write stories for my family. This one time, I had an “auction” where my family would bid like a quarter or a dime to buy my story. Hmmm…maybe this prepared me for being a published author, eh? LOL!! The stories were always there. When I got a little older, I created this “town” for my stuffed animals (of which, I had about 200.) It was called “Animaltown.” Not only did I break all of the animals into families, but I gave them all full names, backstories, goals, motivations, and conflicts. I didn’t know back then that was what I was doing, but as I’ve learned these elements of writing, I realize I was doing it before I knew how to do it. There was a school, a newspaper (which I wrote), there would be proms (which probably led me to be a meeting planner in my “real” life), and beauty pageants. The creativity was there…every day.

In 1993, I started writing my first romance novel. It was…awful, with glimpses of brilliance. I never quite finished it, but I had a blast writing it. I was so naïve, so fresh, so un-jaded about “rules” and who was buying what and so on. I just wrote because I had to do it. Then, after eight years of futzing around with collecting plot ideas, I decided to get serious about having fun. I sat down and wrote my first full-length novel. It was called FOOTPRINTS ON MY HEART and was about a woman who was pregnant with twins and trying to decide what to name them…perhaps after people who had left an impression on her in her life. It’s a flashback to her senior year in high school, her best friends, and first loves.

I loved it.

It was 863 pages of glorious emotion. And it sucked. But it got me writing. A full year of my life spent crafting and honing and plotting and writing. Sitting at the computer with gusto and verve and excitement because I *had* to get these characters and story out of my head. I had to finish the manuscript. And I did. Let me tell you what, there is NO better feeling in the world for a writer than getting that last sentence out and writing “The End.” Then, you can take a small vacation until the next set of characters start knocking on the cranial door.

Since writing FOOTPRINTS, I have written 12 full-length novels, 3 partials, and 2 books that will come out next year. Yes, I sold my books on proposal (meaning, a synopsis and three chapters), but it was because I had a track record of writing full manuscripts. My agent knew I could get to The End. My editors knew I could get to The End.

That’s the best advice I can give to ALL writers, not just newbies. If you want to be a writer, you have to WRITE. That means words on the page. Getting them out of your head. Making them tangible. You have to write. You have to not TALK about it, but DO IT. Life will get in the way because it’s…well, life. Jobs. Spouses/significant others. Kids. Commitments. All of that will allow you to excuse not writing by saying, “Well, the kids are out of school…” or “I was PMSing this week…” or “Work was killing me…” Doesn’t cut it for me. A writer writes. And, you find the time to do what you WANT to do. My friend, Wendy Toliver (www.wendytoliver.com) is a mother of three little boys. Her life is full of baths, meals, and play dates, but Wendy finds time to write. She makes time for her writing without making excuses.

I just came off five straight days of a National Sales Meeting at work where I worked all day, was in meetings and then dinners and partying each night, but I found time each day during lunch to work on my new synopsis. Because I knew I had to do it. I wanted to do it. So, just like my parents’ farm where the chickens didn’t stop laying eggs and the cows didn’t stop needing hay, writers don’t take vacations.

Sure, you can have down days or time off, but writing is in the blood and it’s something you have to do. If I could bottle up the want/need/desire to write and sell it to new writers, I’d do it. Anyone who wants to write should just DO IT. Sit down and let those words flow. Don’t think about where to market it or where it will fit on the shelf or what agent will want to buy it. Write it because you HAVE to write it. Write with innocence and naivety and fun.

Just. Do. It.

Thanks to the gals for having me here! I hope my little missive here has helped and motivates you to go write and get those amazing, complicated, detailed characters out of your head and onto paper. Good luck and keep at it!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Marley Gibson
http://www.marleygibson.com
Sorority Rush Begins…
May 2008

“My dream is to spend my life doing what I feel that I was born to do.” - Paul Potts

There are certain pieces of music that touch my heart, and a performance of the Puccini aria, “Nessun Dorma,” from the opera Turandot, never fails to move me to tears. So when an ordinary car phone warehouse worker from South Wales stunned the judges, audience, and the millions of viewers of the show, “Britain’s Got Talent,” with a powerful performance of this beautiful piece, I hopped with great interest on the emotional tidal wave that followed his progress through the elimination rounds to the show’s finale.

For in watching this ordinary man show his love and talent for singing opera, we viewers got the chance to witness something extraordinary.

There are better-bred opera enthusiasts and more knowledgable opera critics than myself who also watched the Paul Potts phenomenon and chimed in as the proverbial wet blankets - with criticism about his voice and how it compares to the male opera stars of our time, and the likelihood that he could succeed as a performer.

I followed the hype with great interest because I know how terribly difficult it can be to not only admit to having the dream, but actually doing something about it. And to see this gentle, unassuming and unlikely hero step on such a huge literal and figurative stage in such a test of his confidence and ability - I couldn’t help but root for him from the very edge of my seat. With every note he hit (at least to my untrained ear), the tears streamed down my face - I just admired him so much and, after witnessing his brave steps towards his dream, I wanted so badly for him to succeed.

Oddly enough, I thought that Simon Cowell summed it up best: “I like shows where somebody isn’t a professional, has a talent, isn’t aware of it, has a normal job and then you see something else. I like that.”

My hope for any of us mere mortals with a dream is that we take these chances and share our talents with the world. Paul Potts did, and not only did he win this round of “Britain’s Got Talent,” but he also won the chance to sing before the Queen. And, oh yeah, his debut cd, One Chance, will be available July 30, 2007.

If you haven’t seen the clips of any of his performances on the show, you can find them on You Tube. Click here to connect to the clip of the first introduction to this new star and his initial performance of “Nessun Dorma”.

As I am so fond of quotations, I will end this week’s post with another favorite by Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”

That’s my dream for you!
-Jessica