On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

A longtime fan of Maeve Binchy, I have read many of her novels and short stories. Whenever I need an extra dose of inspiration, I reread sections of The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club. Comprised of twenty letters written by Maeve, this guidebook offers advice and tips to writers and wannabe writers. Here’s a short segment from the letter on Visualizing Success:

It almost feels like tempting fate to visualize success. It’s like saying to the gods that we know we are going to win when we have a sneaking feeling that the gods mightn’t like such a cocky attitude and could easily dash us down. Yet I think it’s important that we try to do it all the same. It’s a powerful lever in keeping us at it, particularly on those days when anything seems more attractive than trying to get the ten pages done. So when Reality kicks in asking us who the hell do we think we are, Hemingway? it’s wiser not to listen to those voices. Better to choose the over-sunny way and ask yourself, why not me?

Source: The Maeve Binchy Writers Club, page 50