Measuring Greatness

By Loretta Eidson

Recently, I posted this quote by Mark Twain on Hootsuite: Great people can make you feel that, you too, can become great. I’ve heard numerous times throughout my life that if we want to be smart we should hang out with smart people. It stands to reason the same is true for greatness. But, who do we consider to be great people?

If we focused on the world’s view, millionaires or movie stars might come to mind. Maybe even Olympic medalists or famous ministers like Billy Graham. But when the binoculars are removed from our eyes and we focus on great writers, who do we see?

Our gaze might fall on authors like John Grisham, Stephen King, John Steinbeck, or Jerry Jenkins. These guys have reached the world with their books. We look at them with admiration and longing…longing to grasp an inkling of the writing knowledge they possess.

Among those we view as great are agents, editors, and publishers. Their level of greatness supplies an overflowing fountain of wisdom and direction for the published and the unpublished.

We could rub shoulders with successful authors like Brandilyn Collins, Lynette Eason, Steven James, Edie Melson, or DiAnn Mills-just to name a few, who appear great in our eyes because they are just that-great published writers. They possess a working knowledge of what it takes to become an effective writer because they’ve been where we are. Their mentoring can inspire us to persevere and hone our craft. Mentoring teaches in such a manner that many writers blossom and move on to mentor others.

Writers are in a league of their own. We develop camaraderie, lean on each other for encouragement, suggestions, corrections, edits, and yes, friendships. We trust and bind together because we understand the inner drive to write and the exhilaration of possible success.

Many authors and agents offer multiple educational resources such as Webinars, online classes, and informative blog posts. These are excellent resources readily available for those who desire a deeper understanding of various writing topics.

Be encouraged, because with each manuscript we write, every contest we enter, every submission we make, and every book we write…we grow…and each step makes us greater, smarter, and more experienced than before.

So go ahead…don’t let measuring greatness stop you from become the great writer you are.

Loretta Eidson writes romantic suspense and is presently working on a trilogy. Her novel won first place in her genre in the 2014 Novel Rocket Contest, placed in the top ten of 2013 & 2015 ACFW Genesis contest, was a finalist in the 2014 ACFW Genesis Contest. She has non-fiction stories published in various anthologies. Loretta is a Craftsman Alumni of the Christian Writers Guild. She and her husband live in Byhalia, Mississippi. They have four children and twelve grandchildren. Find her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/loretta.eidson.7 and Twitter: @lorettajeidson.