December seemed like the perfect time to share this quote often attributed to Picasso (but probably wrongly so. Still, it’s a fine quote, whoever said it.):

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

When it comes to writing, I suspect that I’m better at helping others bring out their gift than I am at my own work. And now that I’m a bit older and possibly wiser, I’m pretty okay with that.

When my daughter’s story was selected for Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Angels and Miracles, I was thrilled for her! And recently, she was interviewed about her story for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. She made a point of mentioning that her mother was a writer and that I’d helped her polish her story and encouraged her to send it in–and she was disappointed when none of that part of the interview was included. But that’s the way it often is when writers lend a helping pen. We don’t help others tell their story for the glory; we help because there’s a joy in seeing a writer succeed, whether it’s one story that needs to be told or the beginning of a long and successful career.

There’s purpose there, in the giving away. And a purpose here is that I shared something over at the Muffin this weekend that you might’ve missed. It’s just a little bit of writing advice but maybe it’ll be the start of something BIG for you and your writing!