Fear

pushed me out of creativity

lulled me from my dreams. 

I was living them then. 

I know this now. Only
now, I'm asleep. 

Perfect vision looking back -- 

doesn't mean it's too late

to try again. For

all the times I failed as a writer, 

I know that 

my greatest success was not

how many people were 

moved by my work, how much 

money I made, how close I came to

overcoming my fear of failure, but that 

I continued to write. 

My greatest failures were not how many

paycheques came too late, how many

rejection letters I received, how many more

query letters I was too afraid to write, 

how many hours I spent 

sitting in front of my computer 

on Facebook rather than writing or

calling or researching or goddammit

trusting that I'm a good writer and 

should and must write. Because writing 

is fragile life, and patience nourishes

creativity, that persistent embryo. 

Published by Troy Media

Writing about natural gas, as this story demanded of me, was a tall order. With no experience in the oil and gas industry, I had my doubts about how well I'd be able to pull off this freelance gig for TroyMedia.com.

Applying my inquisitive nature and donning my best listening hat, I set out to interview everyone from industry executives and scholars, to a restauranteur and unexpected sources in the agriculture industry. After hours of research and weeks spent waiting for callbacks, the story took shape in my mind and became clear as a blue flame burning at midnight.

The client said the story is "solid," and it was used to launch Troy Media's 19-part series. 

Check it out here, and thanks for celebrating this with me.

- Tannis