Cathy Hardy, my good friend Jerry Lipkin’s wife, is very special to me. She is one of the most wise and spiritual human beings I know. One day, several years ago, while the two of us were walking along the beach in San Francisco, Cathy said something that made me stop in my tracks so I could write it down: “What am I doing today to make myself better at what I love to do?”
Me, I love to write. What am I doing today to make myself a better writer? I’m writing.
A writer has to keep working at his craft. He has to keep practicing, just like athletes, ballet dancers and musicians practice their skill. What if a musician played only on performance night? He’d be out of sync with the rest of the orchestra. The more you do something, the more you’ll improve. Regular exercise of a skill or activity helps you become better at it. I do a hell of a lot of writing in my journal, not only to write down my thoughts, feelings and ideas, but to practice keeping my hand, eyes and brain working in unison.