Continuing on in my Month of Thanks, here is my letter for October 6th.
To Melissa Hayden,
I honestly can’t imagine this year without you in it. When I think of who has recently had a profound effect on my creative endeavors, you are easily one of the first who spring to mind.
Your support of my writing has been unwavering the past few months. You’ve become an integral part of my writing process, firmly entrenching yourself as the first person I go to with a new idea or when I hit a stumbling block. You were the first to listen to my idea about the superheroes and tell me no, I wasn’t nuts, and you have been the first to read each and every word I’ve written of each book, now going into the third. Finding someone as dedicated as you’ve been is a small miracle. I know I say thank you for your help from time to time, but I want you to know how truly and completely I mean it. You’ve helped me work through more road blocks and plot threads than I can count, and I am constantly referring back to our conversations to see which ideas to use and which to throw away. Constantly. I’m not kidding.
I dubbed you one of my Flail Herders, but, really, you are so much more than that. You effectively held my hand through the entire process of my first blog tour, pointing me to reviewers and resources that were incredibly helpful. Your own reviews and participation in said tours are unwavering.
No writer can do what they do on their own. It takes a veritable army of people supporting and assisting to make what we do possible. Had I a cabinet of advisors, you would definitely be on it. You help me reflect on my ideas and suss out the good ones from the mess. You ask questions that guide me on the path to whole, complete stories. Your feedback shows me where I need to strengthen characters, and where I need to tear them down. Your comments make me laugh and make me think. You cheer me on when everything sucks, and give me a fresh perspective that makes it not suck so much. There are days when I feel like I should just toss everything out, but you’re always there with your pompoms and reassurance that I’m on the right path.
You may still have to battle Mindy for ownership of Jackson, though. She kind of scares me. ;)
Wishing YOU the best in words and pages,
Starla Huchton
Melissa (My World...in words and pages) says
Oooo. I don’t know what to say. I enjoy getting lost in the creations with you. And, they are amazing! I love the ideas and helping you work through to the next page and what might come.
It’s great to hear that it helps. I never would have thought it would help so greatly. It’s a fun game to me in a world that is exciting. All the worlds you’ve created so far.
Thank you! for the kind words and thinking of me. :)
**hugs**