Holly Had to Go! Here’s Why…

Like many of you on a Sunday evening, I was fixated on the latest episode of Power (between watching Usain Bolt slay), a TV show on STARZ network that highlights the struggles of a drug dealer trying to change his ways for good – known as Ghost. His best friend, Tommy has struggles and weaknesses of his own that he’s been dealing with as well. Welp, one of those thorns has been his lover Holly, a chick who started working at Ghost’s nightclub and ends up in an intense-sex-filled relationship with Tommy. Eventually, she came between the life-long friends and wanted Ghost dead and gone. This desire of hers continues to grow until she crosses the line and ended up hiring professionals to smoke Ghost in cold blood. At some point both her and Tommy believe that Ghost is dead when she confesses what she did to get rid of him “It can be just the two of us now”, she tells him  (deranged!). She really thought that her presence and body would be a prevalent priority in Tommy’s life, despite his life-long deep relationship with Ghost. In short, she crossed the line, her plan blew up in her face and she basically (or literally) got choked out for it. I’m being really sketchy and basic with the details here on purpose – if you haven’t watched the show…go get your life, please.

This. Episode. Was. Everything.

I usually don’t talk about TV shows or movies on this blog, but there are important things to point out that are heavily related to writing and getting started on building your voice.

You have to protect your craft, especially if you’re learning how to develop your voice

Sometimes, you just gotta clean house!

I’ve said it before, you’ve got to get rid of people who are slowing you down, confusing you or just plain hating on what you’re trying to accomplish. No you don’t have to put them in a violent choke hold like Tommy did, but you do have to put them in their place, even if they don’t know they’re being checked. For instance, there are people who know about my upcoming book and people who don’t. They’ll just find out when the book is released because I know the type of negative energy they bring and how that may affect me and my progress. The other day, one of these negative-energy carriers accidentally learned that I was working on a book and they immediately started laughing at me. “Why are you writing a story?” they asked with a scrunched up look on their face, as if I was doing something illegal. Why wouldn’t I write a story? Why are you so quick to be negative about it without knowing ANYTHING about the story? I simply replied “yes, I am” and continued typing. Then they tried to take a look at what I was typing and started asking 101 questions. I stopped typing, looked at them and politely let them know that the conversation was over and that I needed to focus on what I was doing. They eventually got the message and left me alone. This person and I don’t have the best relationship, so there wasn’t going to be a positive outcome anyway.

I’ve had to distance myself from significant people who’ve been in my life for years, who know some of my darkest secrets, in order to get certain things done. If I didn’t detach from them, I would still be in the same place of incompleteness and frustration, and that is a fact. I thought they were happy for me, but they weren’t. Out of their own insecurities, out of their own hatred towards themselves, they constantly attempted to deflect that on me and I had to put a stop to it. You have to protect your craft, especially if you’re learning how to develop your voice. If you’re still developing a certain level of strength and resistance, naysayers can have an effect on you along the way, which is why you have to be careful about who you share your information with. Some people are simply not ready to hear about your progress and success. They can’t take it, so they gotta go.

Stick to your plan and don’t back out

Trust me, there will be times where you’ll feel silly about sharing that poem you just wrote, or reading that excerpt from your draft that you’re working on. You’ll even feel scared to start blogging or sharing your ideas with others. This is perfectly normal, but should not take over your thoughts and confidence that you’re building within yourself. Keep writing in that journal and working on that draft – It’s just you and the pen, free to do or say whatever you feel. There’s no one around to mock you or ask dumb questions. The more you do this the more confident you’ll feel. The time will come when you’ll have a platform to start using your voice in ways you’re not used to. The more you write the more organized your thoughts will be. You’ll be ready to face any audience at that point, just stay consistent with managing your thoughts, ideas and feelings on paper.

It’s debatable whether Holly had good intentions or not, but she was definitely selfish and insecure. You need to take a look around and determine if you need to make any changes before the connection to your growth and success gets shot down in cold blood.

 

Now go write!

Tell Folks about it!