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Literary Lights

Priscilla Fagan

The Passion

Late this afternoon, I sat in my vet’s lobby in their new facility, which was quite impressive. I thought about all the money I had spent on my beloved Scotties, my Bearded Collie, and our cat that passed last year, and decided this place belonged to all of us. But I digress. I sat waiting to pick up my baby Scottie, Haddie, who had just been spayed, and looked up at the wall. A picture of my veterinarian holding a Golden Retriever caught my eye. The picture was framed and had once been the front page of our local newspaper. The headline read…Passion.

Two thoughts struck me at the same time. Is this what’s missing in me as far as my writing goes?  And I saw the next column for Literary Lights. I suppose facilitating this session of the Writer’s Way to Creativity course had me questioning again where I was going with my writing. Passion. I love to write, and always seem to come up with a subject, a conflict, and a story. But, as my veterinarian, Jean Pitcairn, shows daily her passion for the vocation she has chosen, I wonder if I have the same passion within me. Just writing isn’t enough; it’s what I do with the stories once they are written.
 
Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. Denis Diderot

Movie stars have a passion for acting, musicians have a passion for music, doctors have a passion for healing, and police have a passion for upholding the law. Passion for a career calls for sacrifice…personal. Do all movie stars have passion? The successful ones do. Do all musicians have passion? The successful ones do. Do all doctors have passion? I would certainly hope so. Do all writers have passion? I’ll let you answer this one. I will offer my opinion. All writers have passion for the written word, but not all writers have the passion to do what it takes to become a published author.

Vanity plays lurid tricks with our memory, and the truth of every passion wants some pretence to make it live. Joseph Conrad

Passion for writing goes beyond writing for writing's sake. The passion I’m talking about goes beyond the written word, it goes beyond the need to put something on paper, and it goes beyond self publishing or e-publishing. The passion I’m speaking about is the ability to sacrifice our safe haven, our life, our family and take that leap which will lead to publishing success. LaBruyere speaks to the passion, To make a book is as much a trade as to make a clock, something more than intelligence is required to become an author.

Julia Cameron tells us not to ‘indulge or tolerate anyone who throws cold water in our direction'. She refers to it as our Escape Velocity. Escape velocity requires the sword of steely intention and the shield of self-determination . . . Set your sights and don’t let the ogre that looms on the horizon deflect your flight.

If you have the passion, nothing will get in your way.

Priscilla, the eternal optimist