“For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Proverbs 2:10
A good friend called last week to let me know that our college journalism professor had suffered a massive heart attack. I considered him a mentor and was shocked and also saddened to think that he might not be around to encourage students to write and live life to the fullest. Praise God, he is still with us and is at home recuperating, but will miss the beginning of the school year.
But, that phone call brought back memories of the things he said to cheer us on to be writers and difference-makers at our small Christian college. He believed as journalists we should be renaissance people, and he encouraged us to be what he called a specialized generalist. As Christians, he would never allow us to feel that we were any less of a writer because we were people of faith.
Now, that I am at middle age, and have been a writer in various fields, I love sharing my experience with students and new writers. I am on the staff of the Write-to-Publish Conference and I have been able to encourage those whom are attending their first writers’ conference. I love to see their faces brighten when I tell them about an opportunity that they might try to get even get a small piece published.
I remember all the people who spurred me on, including Doug Tarpley, my mentor who we almost lost. There were also colleagues, critique partners, editors and a Correspondent for CBS News from my hometown. And most of all I thank God who guides my life and goes before me and walks with me through it all.
Don’t forget to thank those who have guided you in your career. One of the best ways to reciprocate is to teach a class, mentor someone or just listen to the dream of another writer. And most of all, let’s not forget to pray for each other.
Did you have a mentor that made a difference in your writing career
Tammie Edington Shaw
Don't forget to buy a copy of Tammie's new book:
Writing so Heaven Will Be Different, 35 Years of Encouraging Stories from the Write-to-Publish Conference
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