This is just for the archives. You know, the file you go through and look at all the bizarre ideas you had back in the day, before this happened and that happened and all those ideas went out the window? Not exactly a bucket list, but stuff I’d like to see happen. When I first thought about it, I thought it was a little narcissistic, but come on, every writer wants her books to go global, every actor wants the gold statue, and every IT guy wants the robot award.

So here goes: Nobel Prize for Literature. That’s it. I figure I should be able to knock that off by the time I’m 80. Maybe twice, I’m not that old. Do they give more than one to the same person? Alright, I’ll break ground. I mean seriously, if you’re going to do something, shoot for works. Why compromise and settle for the Pulitzer? I’ll take one of those too, thank you very much. If you’re talking hobbies, I understand not having high falutin goals, but if this is it, if this is what you wake up to do everyday, baby do it! And be good at it. Writer, thy name is Excellence. Aren’t you just a little sick of drivel? We’re so used to being polite that we’ve accepted mediocrity as the norm. I’m not just talking about writing either. I mean everywhere. It’s so wonderful to see something done well. It’s the amen to a holy sunset. So worth it.

Write on my friends, and write well. I’ll see you in Stockholm.

The Word of God is the most powerful force in the universe. He spoke creation into existence and it hasn’t stopped. He made man in His image and breathed life into him—the breath of His Word. Whether we know it or not, our words have a force of power to them as well. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (Proverbs 18:21).

Stick and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Not so. Words can speak life or death, spoken or written. God has given us something of Himself, the power to speak and force that goes with it. As writers, we have to use that gift honorably. When we write, we hope that our work will go out to generations. What will we put in those open, innocent hands? Words of life, or death? Our brains are funny things. When we watch movies or read a book, our brain is tricked into believing that the entertainment is real. We feel fear, surprise, anguish. That’s why we love stories. We like embracing experiences we wouldn’t otherwise encounter. So will we give our readers food for life or watery drivel? Use the power of those words! You will effect a genre of readers far more than you know.

Write with a purpose. Be like the servant who doubled his talents, not like the one who buried it in fear. Your pen (or laptop) is your magic wand. Use it wisely, but use it.