I so admire my very talented writer friend Kamalani Hurley for her tenaciousness at posting and creating relevant content about Native Hawaiian and local artists.
As for me, my time is mostly spent taking online courses to beef up my knowledge of coaching and working on revising my picture book on Hawaii sugar plantations.
As a writer for more than 15 years, I still feel like a beginner. Every day it’s about showing up when the laundry needs to be done and my kids need me for everything.
To be honest, I nearly lost my writing mojo last month and was about to put away my writing mitts forever. Then, I realized what I really needed was a break and reminder that what I was working on was important.
The screenshot above is from my cousin’s Instagram post. He graciously allowed me to share it here. This little piece of history is an artifact of my now gone grandparents’ past. Without creating stories about it, my kids won’t have anything left.
Researching and writing can be a slog. Getting feedback and submitting can be an ego buster. Yet it’s the only way to see your history on the shelves.
It’s the only way for people to understand why Hawaii is the way it is so hopefully they will respect it and be kind and generous to the people who live here.
I have a lot of work to do so I’ll keep this short. But if you have a story to tell, I hope you won’t give up either. And I hope you’ll join me on this long crazy path towards publication. There are many more terrifying fears I need to confront to get to the finish line.
This is just the beginning. May my ancestors be with me.
