In the quiet of the night, our ship sails on. There’s an interesting bond between the night and writers. Writing can be a lonely business. The night is often a lonely time. You lay awake staring into the darkness with a million thoughts racing through your mind. Every once in a while one makes sense, but there is too many to keep track of, and though your mind may be wide awake, your muscles feel otherwise. The trip from the bedroom to the study seems like a marathon. In the end, you fall asleep hoping that one of your amazing ideas will still be there in the morning.
The fact that your readers are what inspires your ideas hardly makes up for the fact the your a prisoner to your own thoughts. In order to reach your readers, you must untangle the web of ideas that plagues you. Your thoughts originate from deep inside you. They are your own mystery waiting to be solved. In fact, they make up a message that longs to be discovered. This message is your true self, the reason you became a writer, a messenger, even a leader. It is an honor, and the burden is one upon which you are proud to bear.
Look forward to the darkness and the bombardment of ideas because you wouldn’t be a writer if it wasn’t for the night. Darkness is lonely. Darkness is peaceful. Darkness is the confusion that created the dark force to begin with, and now offers you the opportunity to get in touch with yourself and what you stand for. Darkness is not evil, nor is it good. It just is.
Knowing yourself makes you a better writer. There is different between writing about what you know and knowing what you write. Knowing yourself means knowing what makes your own heart beat. It means knowing about yourself that which you wish to share with others. When you write what you know, you might write about an experience or incorporate a familiar setting. Knowing what you write is delivering the message you want your readers to take away from your work.
A writer’s life can be solitary, but when you are alone you get to know yourself very well. By getting in touch with yourself, you will answer questions you never thought possible. Things become clear that were once shrouded in fog. Suddenly, the loneliness of the night fades away. Ideas become untangled. You look forward to the darkness. You’ve discovered your message. You realize all of the obstacles you’ve overcome had a purpose. They made you into the person you are. They gave you a reason for being. You found it. You believe in it. A fire inside ignites. You know what you have to do. You know what you want to say. You know how you want to say it. The dark force has become the enemy you depend on instead of the enemy you fear.
Because this is so, there are still questions. Why did it take you so long to discover who you really are and what your message is when it was there all the while? There is no particular answer, but there is always an answer. We become complex as we age, but we develop our nature when we are very young. Who we are gets lost somewhere along the way. You may have to go back in time to discover the key. You may have to go back to a single incident in your childhood. You may be blocking something out that happened a long time ago that affected the way you live your life today. It may be painful. It may be relieving. Regardless, you have to go back to move forward.
Everyone has a time in their life that marked a significant turning point. That is the point where the seed of your message fell into the soil. It’s been growing ever since before your very eyes. You’ve just refused to see it. Now, you do. There’s no reason to dwell on it any longer. Your job is the future, to make a difference. You have a gift. You have an audience. You are the definition of a leader. The time has come to lead, and you lead with your message.
When it comes to delivering your message, it’s much easier to write for a specific group than for a group of specifics. A specific group already has a preference as to who they listen to and read. The may not be locked into a specific message, but they certainly lean in one direction or another. Writing for a group of specifics would be like throwing darts blind hoping to his the target. If your message appears to fit in with the ideals of a specific group, they will likely give you an opportunity to deliver it. You have to be cautious, however. A reader is as quick to spot a liar as anyone. In other words, you have to do more than be able to deliver your message. You have to believe it if you want anyone else to believe it. When you believe it, delivering it becomes second nature. You will find it gets wrapped into all of your writing in some capacity, thus defining you, thus sharing your mysteries with others so they may unlock their own.
Once a reader relates to you, they will come back time and again either to refresh your message in their minds or to watch you grow in hopes of growing with you. Again, the power of the written word reveals itself. Once you’ve captured your audience, your responsibility is to remain consistent. Your message should grow, but it should not change so dramatically that you lose your identity and your readers along with it. Consistency and the desire for growth is what a reader craves. By satisfying their hunger, they reward you by helping you to shoulder your responsibilities as a leader. Even when you are lonely, you are never alone.
With confidence and the help of your readers, you can do more than defend yourself against the dark force; you can fight back. A leader controls his own destiny. Lead well, and be loved. Lead poorly, and be resented. There’s no middle ground for a writer. You either make it or you don’t. A leader knows who they are and what they stand for. They aren’t afraid to reveal themselves to others because they have the confidence to not care about the few who don’t agree with their message. They let their message ripple across the ocean loud and clear drawing those who would listen and distancing those who would not. The dark force does not have such power. It relies on the darkness inside you. Now, you control this darkness.
Make the darkness of the night the light that leads your career. You know yourself better than anyone. It may take some time to unlock your own secrets. However, by doing so you will pave the path for your readers to follow you. A solid message is what can make the difference between good writing and memorable writing. It can be whatever you want, delivered however you want. It can be delivered through character development or by simply spelling it out. Whatever your course, your message has to come from deep inside yourself. If you let your readers know you, they will be more than willing to carry you through the darkness. They will help you fight the dark force. They will never leave your side. They are your children and you should nurture them. They will reward you in the end.
We made it through the night, and the dawn has come. The day brings a new excitement to our voyage. We discovered a triangular relationship that goes from you to the author, the author to the audience, and back to you. Invincibility has become a staple aboard our vessel. Confidence is rampant. The dark force sees this. It’s angry. It reorganized and became more powerful than ever because it feeds off of our own success. It’s a beautiful day. If it wasn’t for the tidal wave approaching our bow, it might have been the day we broke the glass ceiling. No matter. We will break it tomorrow.
