Faith and a Box Full of Clock Parts

[Karen Dionne]

Thrilled to see my guest essay on writers keeping the faith despite self-doubt on Psychology Today! Here's an excerpt:

"I’m ten years old. My Big Ben-style alarm clock has stopped working. Maybe I wound it too tightly, maybe it’s just worn out. Whatever the reason, the alarm hasn’t gone off in days.

I know I can fix it, if only I can get a look inside. When I tell my parents, they don’t laugh. Instead, my dad gives me a set of miniature screwdrivers, my mom gives me an empty shoebox, and on that day, my writing career is born.

Okay, technically, I didn’t take up novel writing until I was in my mid-forties. But by encouraging me to go ahead and try to fix that clock, even though they knew full well that all I’d have to show for my efforts would be a shoebox full of clock parts, my parents in effect said, “We believe in you.”

You can read the rest at: Karen Dionne: Faith and a Box Full of Clock Parts