Book Review: Five Pages a Day

My mother and I both had the same taste in books. If I liked a book, I could be sure it would appeal to her. If she suggested a title, I knew it would be a hit with me. What a blessing that was! To have another individual in this wide world who knew exactly what would thrill you and could recommend titles sure to please. Wish I still had that - oh, how I miss your book recommendations, Mom!

When I wrote the blog post about finding several old letters from my mother, I determined to go back and read those recommended books. I started with this one, Five Pages a Day, from an author we both loved: Peg Kehret. To my knowledge, my mother never attempted to write a book. I think she wrote some short stories and some articles. I vaguely recall her attending a writer's conference when I was a teen, but I think nothing ever came of her ambitions and she simply let them slide. (Oh, how easy it is!)

I share my mother's enthusiasm for this memoir/writing book. Although written for children, I eagerly devoured every word. Kehret tells of her early battle with polio, her first forays into writing (a newsletter about neighborhood dogs), her determination to reach certain goals, and her practice of writing five pages a day. The resounding lesson I learned from Kehret's book: set goals and persist! For quite a while, I pursued my morning two pages, but when discouragement hit several months back, I dwindled to writing however long I wanted (still usually managed a page or two, but didn't press myself if nothing surfaced). I have never set down a list of goals, and this might be something important. Kehret had three or four publications she aspired to reach, and it thrilled me to read of each success.

Her habit of submitting something every Friday certainly influenced her success. I tend to sit back and wait, when I should continue to pounce in different corners and allow every rejection to spur me on to another submission. Her early successes came in word contests. Indeed, she once won a car for a twenty-five word entry. No doubt, the discipline of narrowing down to twenty-five words improved her writing skills. I need what she has - grit and determination! Thankfully, by reading her stories (Runaway Twin, Ghost Dog Secrets, and Dangerous Deception) and her life story, I'm more eager than ever to stick to the task at hand ... to set down my daily five pages and to send my words out into the world instead of hoarding them in treasure chests of computer files.