Terri Tiffany: Guest Blogger and Inspirational Writer

One of the very first writer blogs I read, when discovering blogland, was Terri Tiffany's Inspirational Writer's Blog.

Terri's sincere, easy-to-read style appealed to me greatly.  I felt an immediate bond, as  if I were reading something written by a sister or dear friend.

When Terri agreed to do a guest post for Writing Straight from the Heart, I was absolutely thrilled.

Asked to write a few sentences to introduce herself, she wrote that she  "counseled adults, owned a Christian bookstore, and now resides in Florida where she drives her husband of thirty-two years crazy reading him her stories during Jeopardy. Her work appears in magazines, Sunday school take-home papers, and anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hearts at Home, Cross and Quill, Guide , and Standard. She is working on her fourth novel. "

Many thanks to Terri for joining us today. As one writer to another, it is great to be in the company of a kindred spirit!

Please check out her blog. You will come away inspired.   http://terri-treasures.blogspot.com/   

So here is her column which I titled,

                    Never Give Up: The Value of Perseverance

                                                                By Terri Tiffany


After her recent rejection from a publisher, a fellow-writer emailed me and asked, “Remind me again. Why we do we do this?” A day later, I read an article about a ninety-two-year-old woman in England who was offered her first book deal.

She didn’t give up.

Nor do we. If we believe we have a great story to tell.

In honor of my blog anniversary, I broke down and ordered all four years of my posts. Call it motivation. Call it a great sale. But mostly I wanted to hold it in my hands and read my ups and downs again so I can fully appreciate what I’ve put into learning this craft called writing.

Have I paid enough dues already? Should I have a book published sitting on a Barnes and Nobles shelf? Should my rejections slow down and the agents I’ve queried be calling me with fantastic offers of representation?

Umm.

Am I really the best judge of all that?

I don’t think so but what I can judge are my efforts. Have I uncovered and done every possible thing to help me achieve my writing goals?

This month I’ve signed up for an online writers’ course. This week I formed a Beta group of readers and I’ve asked them to read my book and give me honest opinions. Next month—who knows? But I can guarantee you this: I’ll be doing something and it won’t be called quitting.

I’m not ninety-two years old yet and I don’t want to wait that long for my dream to come true. So I believe in pushing myself however I can now.

What about you? What will you do next in your journey?