My 1st Newsletter Article as President of OCWI

I thought I would share what I wrote for my writing group's newsletter with my blog followers. If you are also a writer, then I am talking to you. Perhaps you would be interested in joining us at OCWI. Email me or check out our website for more details. http://www.okcwriters.org

January Newsletter-From The President

Cinderella’s blue ballgown shimmers in the sunlight as my family and I enter the gates of Disneyland. A glass slipper peaking from beneath her dress takes me back in time. I hear my mother’s voice introducing me to a world of fairy godmothers helping make dreams come true. The dashing Captain Jack Sparrow elicits recent adventures upon the decks of the Black Pearl with my 5 year old son, Aidan.

I have been to many theme parks across the United States, both in childhood and as an adult. Yet this first visit to a Disney theme park seemed so much more than my visits to Six Flags, Frontier City, or Sea World. Why? What is so special about Disneyland? Why did I feel as if this theme park really represented something magical for me? The answer, once realized, is simple.

The story.

Each of the rides and characters at the Disney theme park has stories associated with them. Each of these stories elicits fond memories from those that visit Disney. Without these stories this theme park chain would be just that, another theme park chain. But with the existence of these stories, magic happens. We are taken back to a time in our lives when anything was possible if we only believed. Innocence saw adults as heroes. Our parents could do no wrong. When disappointment was simply not getting everything we asked from Santa at Christmas.

All of this because of the stories created by a writer. Stories are important. As creators of stories, writers are even more important. Without the ability of writers to imagine such amazing characters and worlds, there would be no Frodo in Middle-Earth, no Aslan in Narnia, no Peter Pan in Neverland, no Dorothy in Oz, or no Alice in Wonderland to name a few.

Writers put together their civilization’s history, they create worse worlds than that of reality so readers can see how fortunate they are, they create utopias for their readers to escape to, and they educate others about the rest of the world. Writers share their knowledge, their imaginings, and themselves with the rest of the world.

What a sad, boring place this world would be without the writer.

When you become frustrated with slow progress or rejections, remember places like the magical Disneyland, whose writers didn’t let their frustrations stop them from doing the best thing in the world…writing stories.