Ms. Hank Phillippi Ryan’s Essay
By Erika Hoffman
With alacrity, I read Hank Phillippi Ryan’s essay Paying It Forward, one of the stories in In Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers: 101 Motivational Stories for Writers – Budding or Bestselling – from Books to Blogs. This well-known mystery author made points that resonated with me.
First, she emphasized how it was mere grit and persistence that landed her a job as a TV reporter at age 25, with no experience or real qualifications for the job. She found a mentor. Walt, a veteran photographer, showed her what to do. Within three weeks of following his instructions, she felt confident about her reportage. Grateful, she vowed to pay it forward, which meant that if she could ever help newbies or wannabe writers, she would. Ergo, Hank helped a young girl Sally, an intern. Sally confided she wanted to be a producer someday. In her spare time, Sally composed a book. She got that book published. Well, Hank wanted to be a novelist, too. Sally ended up mentoring her. Roles reversed.
I thought about this story for a long time. Often, when you attend a writing conference the word “networking” is on everyone’s lips. People smooze, especially with those they think can help them achieve their dreams. Yet, the story’s message wasn’t about “networking” or flattering the higher-ups. It was about lending a helping hand. The take-away of her tale? If you know something, some little thing about an esoteric topic, share your knowledge.
I’ve often heard it said: Look how a person treats those who are serving him, his underlings, and then you’ll see the measure of a man. It’s like the old Aesop fable about the lion and the mouse. Because the lion spared the little mouse’s life, the mouse later saves the king of the jungle by gnawing at the ropes that had entangled him, trapped him, doomed him. Help your neighbor, even if your neighbor can never return the favor. You gain something by your own generosity. You increase your happiness. You become a more altruistic person. People notice.
Hank‘s essay made me realize that if I’m ever asked to share a bit of expertise on anything, I should. Therefore, when asked to speak at Rotary meetings, teacher or sorority gatherings, regional writing groups, I do. I present my dog and pony show about writing personal essays. Although I suffer from glossophobia, I accepted the request to be a presenter at the Triangle Area Freelancers yearly conference in May 2019 because I knew I had gathered hints about writing from presenters in the past, and now that I had published over 400 pieces, I have a wee bit of expertise on how to get published. Queried about teaching an OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) class for retired folks, I responded “Sure,” despite the time commitment and the drive. And when someone at OLLI noticed my teaching and asked me to volunteer to instruct a group of men at a homeless shelter, Durham Rescue Mission,I did.
Before I wind up this essay about what I learned from Hank Phillippi Ryan’s essay in a Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology, I must add that I met Ms. Ryan at The Deadly Ink Writers Conference in New Jersey. She was the keynote speaker. She was dynamic.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case with published writers.
Sometimes, I go to these gatherings expecting to be blown away by the pearls of wisdom that these luminaries might scatter before us lowly scribblers, and I’m disappointed. Not so much by what they say or don’t say but by their lack of performance skills. So, another message I extracted from listening to her was that not everyone who writes can pull off a stage performance. Some bore. If you want to try giving a power point or just a lecture and you suffer from glossophobia, maybe join a Toastmaster club to learn about public speaking so that you don’t sabotage your book.
You know that expression: “He has a face for radio?” Sometimes, a person has the voice for radio but not the visage for TV. Sometimes a writer can better impart the message by using the alphabet in black and white on paper rather than his or her physical accoutrements. Blessed by the gods with physical beauty, histrionic ability, and a siren’s voice is wonderful, but being beautiful on the outside isn’t as important as having a generous, thankful, beautiful soul that wants to share what he/she has learned with others.
So, lend a helping hand when you can.
This attitude of helping others when I can spills over into other venues besides aiding wannabe storytellers. MY own kids never hesitate to ask me to be a granny/nanny on multiple occasions. They expect me to say “YES.” I usually do. Yet, there’s a caveat. Once in a while, I must disappoint. “No. Not today! Today Grandma has plans, written in stone, and highlighted in her memorandum book.”
Erika Hoffman is a happy and longtime resident of beautiful North Carolina. She’s a member of three writing clans: North Carolina Writers Network; The Triangle Area Freelancers; and Carteret Writers. During the past 14 years she’s been pursuing “her scrivener dream,” she has succeeded in getting published 460 times. Yet, Erika deems her best achievement— besides being married forever—is having raised four functioning citizens. Without a doubt, her proudest moniker is “Ama’ to six grandsons and three granddaughters.