Thursday Morning Ponderings . . .or what makes a writer a writer

"All the wonders you seek are within yourself."
~Sir Thomas Brown (1605-82)

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genious will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
~Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

I have a friend who is a very gifted writer. Like me, her mind is always rolling around one story or another inside. Words just can't help trickling out from her fingertips onto the page or screen. Like me, she sometimes gets discouraged by rejection, and begins to question her talents and her prospect of success. Sometimes it gets her down, (like me) and she thinks that nobody will ever want to buy her stories. I happen to know she is brilliant and I think that one day someone will want to publish her stories and that we will all be saying we knew her when . . . I have great faith in her talents.

Success doesn't have as much to do with talent really, as it has to do with persistence. If we give up . . . then we fail. Determination, persistence and luck are probably singularly the most powerful aspects in creating success for ourselves. There are lots of talented people in the world that never become more than what they are . . . because they are afraid of failure and therefore never start the journey . . . because they were not in the right place at the right time . . . because the right person never happened to stumble onto their work . . . because they give up and stop trying . . .

I was thinking about this as I puttered about the kitchen at work the other day. What is it that makes a writer . . . a writer, or an artist . . . an artist???



Getting published doesn't make you a writer. There are lots of books out there supposedly written by famous people. Truth is they never wrote a word. A ghost writer writes them for them . . . the famous person only provided the concept.

Writing words that people want to read doesn't make you a writer. A grocery list contains words that you, yourself want to read . . . and I guarantee that if you left it laying about, someone else would read it as well, if only out of curiosity. But that doesn't make you a writer.

What makes a writer a writer, is writing words because you simply can't NOT write them . . . because the mere act of putting them down brings you more joy than the thought that someone may want to read them does (although, in truth that is pretty compelling as well) . . . because it inspires you and feeds your soul . . . because it is what you are compelled to do and what you must do . . .
each day
each step
each moment of your life.

That's what makes you a writer . . .



It's the same with painting or drawing. You do it because you must. Your brain is full of thousands of images and thoughts that need to get out and you are the means by which they do . . . you are the artist . . .

Like I said to my friend, I could spend my whole lifetime taking classes and trying to paint like Rembrandt . . . but in the end, all I would ever end up being is a pale imitation of Rembrandt. I must be the best Me that I can be and then accept that being Me is good enough . . . believe that being Me is good enough . . . have faith in Myself . . . for if you don't have faith in yourself, how ever can you expect that anyone else will want to have faith in you or your talents either.

And maybe nobody will ever want to read her words or my words, or look at my paintings or want them to hang on the walls in their house. And maybe nobody will ever want to pay to read our writings or look at our pictures . . . but that doesn't mean we aren't writers or artists or someone special . . . you only fail when you stop trying . . .

"Believe that you have it . . . and you have it."
~an old Latin Proverb



After a few sunny days we are back to rain this morning. I can hear it tapping against the skylight at the top of our stairs, and yet the birds still sing. There is something in that thought . . .

I had in mind the other day that I wanted to make a kind of greek sandwich for our dinner. Something using pita breads, salad, marinated lamb, and feta cheese, all topped off with Tsatsiki Sauce. This is what I came up with and it was quite delicious. I am not sure what you would call it, but this is what I did.

I grilled a piece of butterflied leg of lamb that I had marinated in the marinade given below until it was done according to our preference. We like it medium. Then I sliced it thinly across the grain. I warmed some pita breads and then put them onto plates, where I topped them with some salad leaves and sliced ripe tomatoes. I lay the pieces of grilled lamb across the top and then drizzled it all with some of the Tsatsiki sauce. ( given below ) It was delicious! (and I even forgot to add the Feta Cheese!)



*Meat Marinade*

Great for chicken, beef, pork or lamb. Just throw it all into a plastic bag, add your meat and chill until ready to grill.

4 lemons quartered
the juice of 2 lemons
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
cracked black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves, broken up
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

Put all the ingredients in a zip lock bag. Add the meat of your choice. Refrigerate for 24 hours, turning occasionally to coat the meat evenly. Reserve the marinade to grill on the meat while grilling.

*Tsatsiki Sauce*
Makes 1 cup

A lovely sauce made with cucumber and yoghurt that is delicious on grilled meats.

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper, divided
1 TBS finely chopped fresh mint leaves

Toss the cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a colander and leave to drain for about fifteen minutes.

Mince and mash garlic to a paste on your cutting board with the back of a knife and with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Put it into a bowl and then whisk it together with olive oil, yogurt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Squeeze out any excess water from cucumbers with your hands, then stir cucumbers into yogurt mixture. Stir in the chopped mint. Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until needed.