Yes! I Can!

     If you try to use the hammer in your toolbox to paint the kitchen, you probably won't like the end result, and no one else will, either! Like a hammer, positive thinking, that voice in our head that says, "Yes! I can!", is a tool in life's toolbox, but it's only one of many tools for creating a written work deserving of praise and recognition by those who will read it.
      Many people believe that the concept of positive thinking is an umbrella attitude, necessary for the success of every undertaking. Granted, everything we do, whether it's buying a lottery ticket, running for public office, gambling with mortgage holders' debt or writing a novel, begins with something in our brain that says, "Yes! I can!" But that statement is always about what "I" can do, not a prediction of the result of our efforts to write a great story. The results have to do with other factors (our marketing/negotiating actions and outside circumstances) that come together to create the perfect sunburst. And even "Yes! I can!" can be the construct of an unrealistic imagination (known as "delusions of grandeur" in bipolar language), not based on truthful perception.
     There's no clear-cut, predictable path to get the masses to recognize and reward our talent and efforts. If there were, it would be a well-worn freeway ending in financial success and fame for everyone. Many successful artists would tell you they are not positive thinkers. They walk hand in hand with their demons, always certain that the worst is going to happen, unable to explain or understand how they ended up in the realm of the renown. One season's winner of "American Idol" believed every minute of every day throughout those three months that he would be eliminated in each next round.
     Positive thinking by itself is not a magic pill that will ultimately make everything wonderful happen. If positive thinking were a pill, a dose too high, or taken at the wrong time, or combined with the wrong food could be fatal. If not used wisely, positive thinking, and its buddy, the touted belief known as the "Law of Attraction" can actually hinder both the creative process and the result.
    As much as possible, it's wise to keep a tuned ear on the constant patter of those little voices in our heads, always listening and ready to challenge our positive thinking beliefs that would hinder our creative process. Here are some to watch out for and the sorry truths that will alert you to take a different course as you write to your highest potential. 

1. PT Belief: You're absolutely certain without a doubt that your story is so good that a Hollywood producer is going to make it into a movie.

Sorry Truth: I believe every person has one or more great stories to tell. It's the way the story is told that makes it come alive for the reader. A good story is not enough. Continue to hone the craft of story writing by reading everything you can and practicing the techniques.

2. PT Belief: You're certain that you're a "good writer," even if you don't know the basics of English grammar, punctuation, and sentence mechanics.

Sorry Truth: If you didn't listen in junior high English class, it's impossible to know what you don't know now. Find the many excellent interactive online sites that teach basic writing skills and get to work!

3. PT Belief: Because you're an educated writer and know the craft of storytelling, you believe that you can write a great story and do the line-by-line final proofreading without the help of professional editors. After all, you're a better writer than anyone you could find to help you.

Sorry Truth: Even if you're a college English teacher and a professional editor yourself, you cannot critique your own work. You will need to hire a professional editor who will give you feedback and content guidance, and then a professional proofreader who will be able to root out all of the errors in the final line-by-line edit before you send your story off.

4. PT Belief: Your story is so great that everyone who reads it will love it, so you send your drafts to your already insanely busy dearly-beloved friends and family members who you're certain will give you support and honest feedback.

Sorry Truth: Instead of honing a story that nurtures the readers, by sending your drafts to your friends, you're soliciting favor; you're asking them to coddle you, rescue you, and make you feel okay. Chances are, your friends won't find the time to read your drafts and will be ashamed to admit it, but if they do read them, they might form opinions as biased insiders who already know and love you. They may focus on what interests them and be unable to perceive a balanced perspective on your piece. If they don't like your story, but love you, they won't tell you their honest opinion; if they're secretly mad at you for something else, they might tell you they don't like your story, maybe for reasons that don't even make sense to you. If they try to give you honest feedback, they likely won't be able to articulate exactly what doesn't work for them, or how to correct it. Unfortunately, your writing needs the objective scrutiny of an unattached critic who doesn't already adore you, but who will advocate for the reader by identifying the problems in your piece and giving you suggestions for fixing them.

5. PT Belief: Your writing is channeled through your brain from a higher intelligence, which could be your Higher Self or an outside Higher Power, and therefore, what you write shouldn't be changed or tampered with and doesn't have to meet the requirements of logic and reasoning.

Sorry Truth: Writers know that words and sentences often fall onto the page, and characters form themselves so mysteriously and effortlessly, it seems as if someone or something else is doing the writing. Neuroscientists know that our brains are constantly working in the background, beyond our conscious reach. Our consciousness, like a newspaper article, writes down what our brain has already debated and voted on. I'm not refuting the possibility of a higher intelligence dictating our ideas to us, but I'm suggesting that some readers might not find your story credible if it's lacking character motivation, reason, and, yes, common plain-folk horse sense. A famous writer--can't remember which one, maybe Erica Jong--wrote that words have to be wrestled to the page. Even after the words go onto the page, the writer must always be matching them to the vision--sights, sounds, tactile sensations, smells--he or she sees playing out in imagination and memory.

My piano teacher in Delaware was a concert pianist who was once quoted in a newspaper article saying, "The simplest piano piece is difficult if it's done well." Good writing requires hours of hard work, of concentrated thought and focus. It requires knowledge of English basics and story crafting. It requires soliciting the skills of other people. It begins with YES! I CAN! But it doesn't end there.