When I’m feeling like I need a pick-me-up or inspiration, I usually find those in a couple different places: awesome quotes by people/writers I admire; talking to writing friends who understand my special brand of crazy; or drinking–preferably with writing friends who can commiserate. 🙂

Kim and Kerri out of the Waterworld Mermaid Lagoon and on dry land at Mike’s American Grill, clearly brainstorming story ideas and NOT drinking mojitos.

Here are some of my favorite quotes that have been tacked up on bulletin boards/dry erase boards in my house or scribbled into countless notebooks.

Some of these are writing related, but most of them are just quotes that make me feel warm and fuzzy. But that could be the mojitos. That’s a real possibility.

“You don’t have to see the top of the staircase to take the first step.”–Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”–Mahatma Gandhi

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”–Mahatma Gandhi

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.”–Vincent van Gogh

“Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.”–Vincent van Gogh

“Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”–E.L. Doctorow

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”–Stephen King

“Writing is like giving yourself homework, really hard homework, every day, for the rest of your life. You want glamorous? Throw glitter at the computer screen.”–Katrina Monroe

“You can fix anything but a blank page.”–Nora Roberts, my Queen

“Every time I hear writers talk about the muse, I just want to bitch-slap them. It’s a job. Do your job.”–Nora Roberts, my Queen

“If you don’t step forward, you are always in the same place.”–Nora Roberts, yes, still my Queen

My other forms of inspiration and pick-me-ups (other than mojitos) would be lavender bath salts, Burt’s Bees lip balm, chocolate, and ice cream. I’ve been trying to steer clear of the last two, and that has made me surprisingly bitchy. Just keeping it real here among friends. 🙂

Thanks to all my writing friends who bitch-slap me when I need it, give me encouragement and support when I need that, celebrate the good news, and generally give me an outlet to vent when the occasion calls for it. You guys are my rocks. And you know who you are. 🙂

Savvy Seven, YA finalists in the 2013 Golden Heart class, who will always have a special place in my heart.

www.kimmaccarron.com
Twitter: @KimMacCarron