During my two-year attempt at acting, I had the pleasure of meeting actor Dan Lauria. He was a guest speaker at an actor’s workshop held by my agent at the time in Colorado.

If you are not familiar with him, he was the dad on the family show The Wonder Years, and I loved him in it. The other night, I got to see him in a 1988 movie called David. I cried and I cried because I was so frustrated watching that movie. I was thrown because of how well he played the role of a disturbed father which was a huge difference compared to his role as the grumpy dad on The Wonder Years.

He is a very nice guy when you meet him in person so it is hard to imagine him playing those kinds of roles. That is called acting. It is called honing your craft, and the same applies to us writers. The similarities in each artist’s performance, whether it is on screen or paper, are meant to touch an audience.

As a writer, our work needs to be critiqued and rewritten so that it is one of our best works of art. We need to do what it takes to make it a page-turner. Just when you think your manuscript is complete, you realize that Chapter 2 should be where Chapter 1 was or that Chapter 8 is not needed at all.

The point I am trying to make is: focus on practicing your art and making it a creation in which forever you will be proud. Remember to keep your best hand forward.