Families large or small are great!

One of the glories of having a large family is the wonderful facets of mankind I’ve been exposed to.  Each of my siblings and their spouses and children enrich my life with every visit and chat.

Last weekend proved the thought, as one sister smiled at me and asked when she might find herself on the pages of one of my stories, and another said she’d been reading my posts, but didn’t see anywhere that succinctly told what my blog and website were about. Hope you like the new tag line, Win.  Still another sister gave me books to borrow and sent along an article to take home to my husband.  It’s like the story of The Five Chinese Brothers, each blessed with a special gift, and when joined together the family of five was indestructible.

Every day friends enrich our lives.

As writers, we often withdraw to our “work” and not bother to engage with others.  The computer screen and keyboard are seductive, always available, always in need of more words. People tend to be “out there” on Facebook or Linked-In, or behind the front doors of their homes down the street.

Each morning, before I have engaged with either people or pets, I sit here and write my blog post, hoping that when I hit the “publish” button, someone out in the internet world might read this and find something worthwhile in the words I put down.  But no matter whether or not I receive feedback, I keep producing words. I keep telling stories.

People come in all shapes and sizes.

Now I try to remind myself that it’s also important to be involved with the source of my success–people. To listen to their achievements and challenges, to hear what they have to teach me, to see when they are silly, happy, sad, angry or just–hangin’ out.  The written word is a pale reflection of the richness around in the community, but to get better at the writing craft one has to engage with people.

As a kid and young adult I thought I could be a news reporter, but more often than not, I didn’t write anything because my life was “boring.” When I finally learned to stop looking for the the globally important and seize the day-to-day stories, life became vastly more impressive.  Heroes sprung from each encounter, and fools were found in the least expected places.

One of the first sayings to aspiring writers is often “Write what you know.”

Who do you know that makes you smile?

Personally, I think that should be adjusted to say “Write who you know.”  Then look around at the people of your life.  They fill you with ideas and emotions enough to fill several books and keep your writing business busy.

No matter what you write, or how you earn your money in life, remember what Marley said to Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol:”

“Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

Who are your favorite people?  Who do you love or love to hate? Who makes you feel good or bad? Who would you turn to if your house burnt down or you wanted to celebrate a business promotion with?

Wishing you a day filled with great people.