Rising to a Challenge

Since this is my first post here at Hoosier Ink, I thought I’d start with a little about me. My name is Abbey and I write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Historical line as Mollie Campbell. I’ve lived in Indiana for 24 years, currently in Kokomo with my husband and our two kids.

Speaking of those two kids, isn’t it amazing how different siblings can be? My youngest is what I call a “try-er.” When she wants to do something, she fights to get it done. She puts in the needed effort and doesn’t let fear hold her back, meeting every challenge head-on.

On the other hand, my oldest…prefers not to be challenged. He would be more than happy to sit at home all the time, playing with the same old toys and never stretching himself. He’s very shy and lets his fear of new situations and new people keep him from doing things, even really fun things. No matter how hard we try to reason with him, once he decides he’s too scared or he can’t do something, he just won’t do it.

As writers, don’t we face this all the time? We all know what can happen when we face a challenge. Failure. Languishing in the process. Or…maybe success. We can choose to face a challenge head-on. Send that proposal to an agent or publisher. Step out and search for a critique partner. Go to a conference in spite of not knowing anyone.

Or we can choose to hide from the challenge. If I’m honest, I can be more like my oldest than I care to admit. Putting words that come from my heart in front of people who might judge or criticize can be terrifying. It’s easier to keep my writing to myself. And for years, that’s what held me back from even trying.

But once I found the courage to start sharing the words I love, I found that I always come out on the other side of that challenge better than where I started. Even if the outcome isn’t exactly what I hoped for, I learn and grow through the experience. And the same applies to all the hard things we come up against in writing (and life). Facing that challenge makes us better and makes our writing better. And that’s worth conquering the fear.