Kelly Rimmer's Blog

Dear 8-year-old Kelly
You've probably just finished reading Heidi, and that means for the very first time, you're deciding that just like Johanna Spiri, you want to be an author. You're wondering what it would feel to tell a story and have people immerse themselves in it - you suspect it will be like seeing real-life magic. Your head is filling with visions of walking into a book store, and seeing one of your own stories in a book.

Well, I'm here from the future to tell you - you did it! It took somewhere around 30 years, but today, you walked into a bookstore and your book was right there. You'll spend a lot of time between now and then imagining that moment so I'll just warn you now… when the day finally comes, you'll be too excited to be patient and when you get to the store, the amused staff will tell you they haven't actually unpacked the box yet. Don't worry, it's still an awesome moment 😂.

Lots of people will help you on this journey, but plenty of people will inadvertently discourage you from attempting it too. Don't waste any time or energy on changing their minds or worrying about what they think. All you have to do is to keep moving towards the dream, even when you get pushed back, even though sometimes you will have to crawl.

Write for fun and write because you have to. Write even when no one else knows you're writing, and write even when no one else wants to read it. Write when you're happy and write when you're sad. Write when you're busy and write when you're bored. Watch the world around you carefully. Watch the way people connect and the way they disconnect. Watch the way the wind makes trees dance, watch the way shadows and light shift across a day. Feel deeply and let yourself cry. Tell the stories that are born in your heart. Write a million words before you show a single one to another human being, and by the time you do, writing will be as natural to you as breathing. Measure your success only by your answer to the question "am I telling the best story I can right now?" Worry about how the publishing world works much later. Remind yourself that whatever your job title happens to be at any given point in time, you're actually a storyteller first and foremost.

If you do all of that, the journey to this day will not actually seem difficult. It will feel like you're just doing what you love.

You'll forget all of the reasons why it's impossible to reach your dream, and by the time you remember to fear them, you'll already be standing at the edge of it.

Future Kelly