I love music. I love to sing, I play the trumpet, and I love to listen to music. Right now, as I write this I’m listening to some 60’s pop while downloading the soundtrack to The Great Gatsby (2013). I probably use my stereo more than I do my TV.
To be perfectly honest, I’m quite mean to myself in the mornings. Sometimes I feel the need to remind myself that I could have been a great musician. But no. I chose the life I lead now. A librarian who writes books. I have played my trumpet until my lips swelled so much that when I puckered them I could touch the tip of my nose. I’ve made people cry with the beauty my singing. It was that one song I worked and worked at. But you know what the problem was? I got burnt out.
I had the opportunity to surround myself with professional musicians as a teenager. Yes,
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people who were able to put food on the table with music. They helped shape me into the talented musician I was. But you know what happens when you play yourself the same song 20 times in a row? You memorize it. The next 200 times you begin to hate it. Then the next 200 times you fall so deeply in love with the song it becomes part of you. Then suddenly it’s the night of the concert.
That’s my concern with NaNoWriMo. I chose to become a writer because writing is the one thing that put the fire in my blood like I was told playing music should. I have had both the opportunity to try to make a living from music and a living from writing. I do not regret those times but I’ve learned firsthand how easy it is to hate what you once loved. What you once lived for. Don’t sacrifice your passion for a word count. Be gentle with yourself this annual holiday and don’t get burnt out.
About Helen
Helen comes from a small town of twenty in eastern Wyoming. She has been passionate about writing since she was small. Helen enjoys traveling and is always thrilled to excite friends with tales of playing music on the streets for money, conversing with the drunks who frequent gutters, and the epic struggle of finding a decent bath when living in a car. Visit her on Facebook‘s War and Chess page!
Ink Smith Publishing is ecstatic to announce another new addition to our team! Emily has her BA in English and Gender Studies and was recently admitted to the University of Maryland, College Park for an MA in English Literature! She joins the Ink Smith Publishing staff as an editorial intern at a very busy time of year!
Monica is a senior at Framingham State University in Massachusetts and will graduate in December. She wants to work in publishing after she gets her degree and is focused on doing some editorial work. She writes poetry and posts some of her work on my 
The Inkwell And Quill 