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A new masterpiece began when next journal beckoned. I would tell myself this was "it": story that would be published (I could justify any expense for an inspiration fix).
It was last spring I had "Aha" moment. It came in Wal-Mart. Shopping with my 7-year-old daughter -- a blossoming writer -- she insisted I buy her a brightly covered journal.
"Why do you want another one?" I asked. "You've got a ton you haven't written in."
"I know," she said, "but I need it to write a story."
"It doesn't matter what you write on," I said, sighing at extravagance. "If you really want to be a writer, anything will do."
"Aha!" I thought, hearing my own pithy wisdom. I bought her journal -- she'll learn her own lessons, her way -- and came home. Grabbing an ordinary legal pad, I wrote a piece with an ending, which finally made it to publication.
It didn't make me famous, but it was a start. I proudly cut out clip -- and stuck it in my journal.
C.S. Paquin is a nationally published writer in both the business and humor markets. Cheryl has a Master Of Arts in Journalism and has been writing freelance for over five years. She contributes regularly to regional publications in Minnesota. She is the owner and editor of http://WritersLounge.com and the author of a new e-book: 101 Paying Markets for Essays, Columns & Creative Nonfiction, available at: http://writerslounge.com/101_markets.html