Fi Phillips

After moving house over Christmas and the resulting jungle of boxes that had to be unpacked, I came across a mountain of photographs. Some are from recent years. Others are from my childhood. About half of them, however, are of my parents and generations before. I thought you might appreciate a little vintage inspiration.

I've been following The Prosperous Writer blog by Christina Katz this year in my drive to be a more effective writer. This week she talks about 'perseverance'. She says, "Writers who succeed in the long run do not succeed solely because they are talented. They succeed because they have cultivated the art of hanging in there". J K Rowling faced and overcame many rejection slips before her Harry Potter books found a publisher. Stephen King drove his wife to distraction (and near bankrupcy) while he beavered away at his short stories and novels before finally hitting the big time and becoming the successful, prolific published writer he is today. I have to admire these people for sticking with it and believing in themselves in the face of rejection. On bad days I beat myself up for not persevering over the distractions of the last two decades but on better days I have to admit that those years have allowed me to hone my skills and build my life experience. I can now...