OK I Lied, I Can't Stay Away

I always say I have to take a break to go do something else and I always come back here like a bad habit. My most recent excuse is... well that I can't stay away and I want to keep promoting this site. In order to promote it in other places,  like other website/blog directories, I really need to update it at least once a week. So here I am.

http://www.annetaintor.com/

I've been thinking about some things lately. I was told by someone close to me that I'm not "ambitious enough."  I know what they meant. What they really meant is that if I really wanted something (ie. publishing a novel) I would be going after it with a lot more gusto and ambition. And it's true. I don't put everything else aside to submit short stories to literary journals, to edit my novel and to promote myself as a writer. Well I haven't promoted myself as a writer mainly because I haven't published anything except for my master's thesis and a recipe. Ha ha!

What I need to do is stop talking and just start doing. Ya! Enough is enough! Just Write It! That's my new motto.

So, what about you? Are you ambitious enough? What do you feel really passionate about? Passionate enough that you show ambition.

Confessions of a Narcissistic Writer

When I first started this blog I thought it was a bit narcissistic. But then all my friends started telling me how much they enjoyed it. Before I knew it I had three blogs so what does that make me?

I have often thought that I am a little of a narcissist, but then what writer isn’t? Okay, maybe Harper Lee isn’t. But even she wrote one extremely successful novel and even if she never wrote another published piece again, she can not escape the fame and fortune that followed.

Then came Facebook. Oh my! I love Facebook and sometimes I have to tear myself away. Facebook has become the platform for all people like me who always have something to say about something.

I will never forget what two women told me the summer I interned at the St. Pete Times. I was 21 years old and at that age well you know, you think you know everything and you have an opinion about everything. At least I did. I’m sure I was pretty annoying, especially after a month of working with me in one small office. Finally one day one of the poor women made a comment about my talking and I don’t remember what I said but I remember her reply and of course how it made me feel. She said, “Yes, but we don’t have to make a comment about every single thing,” or something like that. Once again, I don’t remember what it was exactly, but I got the message loud and clear.

I think of that moment often when I send out my comments to the FB World and I wonder if there is anyone on the other end who is blocking me because I make too many comments.

A week or so ago I was at a luncheon and I met a really sweet woman who was sitting next to me. She asked me if I was on Facebook and I, since we were at a professional event, felt inclined to give her my disclaimer. I told her that Facebook isn’t my professional FB. I hardly have anyone from work and all of my “friends” are either my good friends, high school friends, relatives, or my writing friends. I see as a great platform for writers. Where else can you self-promote?

So am I narcissist? Yes, probably, but I hope it’s all for good in the end.