Pride and Prejudice

No, not the fabulous novel by Jane Austen. What I'm talking about is letting our pride and prejudices hinder our progress as writers. Would you carry around and use a 'brick' phone today? Some of you probably aren't old enough to remember those - they were cell phones about the size of a brick and we thought we were so very cool pulling out the antenna and punching in numbers to call our buddy's land line to show off. How about a crank start car? My dad had a crank start tractor and I thought it was both super cool and super ancient. I have to admit, I love the roar of the engine when all I do is push a button or turn a key and away I go. Lovely!

How about central air conditioning and heating. Living in Arizona I am very grateful for AC. I know some people don't use theirs or don't run it often. I am not one of them. Along with AC, we have homes built for energy efficiency so that we can live more comfortably. And then there's heating. I grew up in the mountains and sometimes it got down to forty below (I realize it's not as cold as some places, but waiting for the bus in the dark, very cold hours makes an impression not soon forgotten). We had an old enormous Heaterola wood burning stove. My dad spent a lot of hours chopping and we spent a lot of hours stacking, but it was all worth it when the chill of winter came.

There are so many things that make our lives easier. The writer's world is no different. There are so many resources we have to help make our writing better. Even the experts agree that they continually learn about writing - picking up a book on writing, attending writing conferences, critique groups, reading current books in the genre in which they are writing. So, don't be prideful or hold prejudice against those who are successful - use the information they offer, learn from them, let them help make your writing better, and as always, Write On my friends!