Sometimes, our toughest critics are the ones who help us believe in ourselves the most.
Frank L. Cole, an author of young adult fantasy novels, spoke to area students this week about the craft of writing.
Cole let them in on his secret recipe for writing.
But an even bigger secret: It’s also a good recipe for getting through life.
One part of his secret? “Believe in yourself.”
“Part of believing in yourself is realizing there are people who will support you and help you,” Cole told a group of Humboldt Middle School students Wednesday morning.
“You need to surround yourself with those people.”
It isn’t always easy to accept their advice and support. Often, he said, those who care the most are the ones who correct us the most.
For students, that could be a teacher or a parent. For him, it’s his editor.
Cole told students about a time when his editor wrote a big “X” through not just one but 30 pages of his novel, three entire chapters.
“I was devastated,” he said. “I thought she hated my book and I didn’t want to write it anymore.”
The editor called to reassure him she loved the characters and story, “but I was making a huge mistake and it was right in front of my face and I couldn’t see it.”
That will happen at some point to each of the students listening to his presentation,
he told them. Teachers and others will see things you can’t, and they want to help you reach your potential.
“Belief in yourself is trusting them and taking their feedback and advice,” he said.
IT’S ALSO a good idea to be weird. The weirder, the better.
