Neil Diamond Said So

By Rebecca Talley

I've admitted previously that I'm an American Idol junkie. Last night, the bubbly and always optimistic Brooke White was sent home. I shared her tears of disappointment. She worked hard and put her heart and soul into her art. Music is part of her and I'm sure she will continue to share her talent because she loves it.

Neil Diamond was the guest mentor for this week. Ryan Seacrest asked Mr. Diamond about retiring and just taking it easy. Mr. Diamond replied by saying that he loves what he does and he wants to keep doing it as long as he can. He then turned to the contestants and poignantly told them to keep doing it if they loved it and to never give up. He knows of what he speaks because he's been in the music business over forty years.

If we love writing, we should keep doing it. It's easy to become discouraged because the writing business is tough. It's impossible to know what publishers want or guess what the next market trend will be. And, let's face it, rejections sting.

But, we have to sit down and pour our hearts onto the paper (or computer screen) because it's part of who we are. Even in the face of rejection, we have to keep at it and never give up. Most importantly, we have to write because we love it and because Neil Diamond said so.