One of the chapters in my “Your Writing Coach” book is about how to find support for your writing among friends and family (and how to find new friends if your current ones don’t respect your passion for writing) and I found a great example of why we need to do this, in David Smith’s Observer article about Steve Martin.
After the premiere of Martin's first big film, one of his friends said to Martin’s father, “You must be very proud.” His father said, “Well, he’s no Charlie Chaplin.”
Way to go, Dad.
My parents were indifferently supportive. They had a “whatever you want, son” kind of attitude, once my father realized that he wasn’t going to persuade me to become an accountant. I do remember one time when I asked whether my mother had watched a TV movie I'd written and she said no, because it was on at the same time as one of her favorite series. Maybe I have more in common with Steve Martin than I thought... Fortunately I found people like my friend Rose who did cheer me on long before I had any success.
I hope you have some people around you who support what you do. If not, they’re not that hard to find now that we have the internet.
PS: Steve Martin has been mentioned by the casting agent who is now working on a film script I wrote, as one of the people they will approach for the lead role. That would be fantastic, but of course they always start high up and then work their way down the ladder—it’s seldom that you get the first choice. I'll let you know what happens.
(There's lots of support for your creativity in my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. To sign up, just send an email request to BstormUK@aol.com)
