What writers can learn from Slumdog Millionaire

As a writer, I envy people who work in teams. Working in a team is empowering. By collaborating with others, the individual becomes a part of something greater, and when they succeed, their success is shared collaboratively. A writer's success, if he ever experiences any, is one-sided and can never really be shared, making it somewhat hollow. 

The team naturally benefits from synergy, the combined efforts that every member brings to the table, causing the team to become greater than the sum of its parts. But most writers don't have the option of working as a team. A writer’s work is lonely, frustrating, and oftentimes isolating. By definition, writers work in a world they have created in their own imagination. The hours are long, the rewards minimal, and finishing a project seems light years away. There are many days when the writer cannot rely on his sense of humor, because it's non-existent. There are days he can't rely on his strength, because it has ebbed. There are days when he won’t be able to rely on his natural optimism because it has dissipated.

So what does he do?

On days when my positive thinking and physical strength have evaporated, when I have lost my self-confidence, and when the spark of inspiration has dried up, I watch an inspiring video that never fails to move me. On YouTube, there is a video that captures the moment when "Slumdog Millionaire" wins Oscar for Best Picture. Each time I watch that video, I cry. The pride, the joy, the camaraderie, the teamwork, the collaborative effort between the writers, actors, technicians, producers, and director is right there on the stage. Their mutual effort has paid off stunningly by garnering them the industry's highest prize.

My happiness for them overwhelms me because when the underdog wins, all of us win. When "Slumdog Millionaire" won the Oscar, they were the odd man, but they broke new ground in film making at a time when nobody believed in them and nobody would give them a chance. Each and every day of his working life, a writer must do the same. When he sits down at his computer, he has to believe he is breaking new ground. He has to believe in his work and commit himself to it fully each new day. He must write with the idea that he is creating something new, monumental, and worthwhile, something the world is happily waiting for.

In the words of Producer, Christian Colson, "If you have passion and belief, truly anything is possible." Dear writers, heed the words of Christian Colson. Believe in yourself and keep your passion for writing alive. But above all, keep writing. Sometimes the strongest team is a team of one.

Now watch the video and crank up those engines!
Go #NaNoWriMo2019!!! I'll meet you at the finish line!