The Good Patrons of 750 Words

10 cups

If you asked me to name the most romantic species of bird I could think of, I can promise my mind wouldn’t go immediately to the rooster. (Actually, now that I’ve posed it, I’m low-key wondering what the answer to that question is. The loon? The turtledove? The swan, maybe? Thoughts, anyone?)

Regardless, I was so, SO excited to see a bright red rooster appear like a vision in my collection of badges this Valentine’s Day morning, looking more cheerful and full of zeal than anything has a right to before nine in the morning. (ANY morning, mind you, Valentine’s Day aside.) In case it wasn’t clear as glass by now, let me assure you: I am NOT an early morning writer. Never have been. Never, EVER will be. In college, I would happily stay up until half past three in the morning making an essay pretty if it meant I didn’t have to set my alarm for six AM to tackle the same task. (Yes, yes, I know – my logic was a little flawed. But such was my thought process back then.) I’ve been steadily nabbing the badges that 750 Words loves to torment and prod us with, though, one at a time – and I wanted that freaking overly cheerful rooster. Fiercely. I’d gotten the Night Bat without even breaking a sweat. Nocturnal writing comes naturally to me, and while I was very happy to have it, I didn’t have to stretch for that particular winged creature. The Night Bat came when I whistled for him and landed contentedly in my open palm, munching a piece of fruit.

The Early Bird, on the other hand, has been taunting me since I first started writing my pages here. I came close a number of times, within a couple of early mornings of success – only to drift back to sleep for “five more minutes” or stare blearily at the blinking cursor for just a few minutes too long. I would let the idea go for a while in pursuit of other things, then drift back to it, annoyed and frustrated that this badge stayed just out of my reach.

Well, early this Sunday morning I am delighted to say I have FINALLY bagged that stupid rooster. He’s mine. MINE!! He will mock me no more! No, he’s no Flying Squirrel, no Great Gryphon. A long way from either of those giants, but I’ve been snatching at his tail feathers for a very long time nevertheless. Small though the accomplishment is, seeing that rooster appear gives me a spark of hope that maybe I CAN wrangle that Pterodactyl I’ve got my eye on next. Maybe I can lasso a Pegasus, snare myself a Space Bird. Who knows – maybe one day I’ll get to ride a Gryphon. If I give up tomorrow because it’s hard, because I’m too tired, because I don’t think I’ve got the words in me, because I’d rather drown all of my doubts in a movie or novel someone else has sweated and worried over, I’ll never know what I’ve got in me, will I? And neither will you, if you’re still reading this far.

Keep going, you guys. No, seriously. Go. Type. Outline. Ramble. Do one more character sketch. Make that grocery list. Whatever it is you’re doing. Keep reaching for that next writing goal dancing just in front of you, and the next, and the next, whatever your personal reasons for showing up in this wonderful space every day. Trust that those reasons are valid and your time doing these words will be worth it. Trust that they matter. I know how hard it is some days to believe you have something worthwhile to say, or that you have the ability to say it well. Show up anyway, put your fingers on the keyboard anyway, because that spiteful little voice is full of lies, and its only purpose is to hold you back. To keep you from taking creative and personal risks. You are so much more capable than you think. So go prove it, to yourself if no one else.

And happy Valentine’s Day one last time, while I’m thinking of it. There’s so much needless emphasis put on one single kind of love today, and one way of expressing that love. If that’s what you’re celebrating, that’s great. That’s wonderful. But if it’s not, be assured that you also have a vibrant and active community here who loves you dearly and is cheering for you, clicking our keys in solidarity as you add one more X to your row of boxes for the month. Thank you, thank you, to the wonderful people who make that solidarity possible for each one of us.

Now I’m off on a Pterodactyl hunt, and hopefully to manage some actual fiction before bedtime rolls around. Wish me luck, ladies and gentlemen! I’m sending all my love and hope and good fortune with you today, too.