| To experience success you must also
experience failure (the best hitters in baseball also strike out
a lot).
Every writer, no matter how talented or
successful has detractors. That's normal. Having someone
reject your work doesn't mean that your work lacks merit. It
may mean that you simply haven't found the right reader (or
editor) who will love your stuff.
It may be that very few writing days will
be golden at times. Many will be downright bleak, and the words
will come slowly and painfully. Write anyway if you can manage
it. In a week or two, those same words may sound better to
you. And if they don't, you can always change them.
Sooner or later, we all come up against
something in our lives that makes writing more difficult. When
you're in a rut or you don't have much time, do writing
exercises designed to foster enthusiasm, but which can be used
later. Brainstorm characters' names, book titles, plots or
conflicts. Nothing in writing is wasted, not even the words you
eventually end up scrapping. All of it feeds your creativity.
There was a reason you started writing in
the first place, and usually that reason is tied up with the
feeling you get when you read. Read something you know you'll
love and try to decide what that writer does to make you love
his or her stuff. Read something you know you probably won't
love, and look for the things that convinced an editor to buy
the work. Read just for fun, to rejuvenate your senses and
remind yourself why you wanted to be a writer in the first
place. Read a reference book you might not otherwise have
picked up and ask yourself how you might use that material in a
book.
No matter what happens, no one can take
away the ultimate joy a writer feels when he or she writes
something which clicks within his or her own soul.
Remind yourself that the writing world is
littered with battered individuals who gave up. It is only by
hanging in there despite the odds and by constantly striving to
improve their skills that those who have made it actually
managed to succeed and publish. So, when you're tempted to give
it up, step back for awhile if you must...and then come back the
next day. On the other hand, if the stresses of trying to
publish are actually making you and the ones you love miserable,
there is no shame in admitting that a writer's life may not be
right for you.
Don't be too hard on yourself. There is
no perfection in writing, only improvement.
It's important to set a goal for yourself
every writing day, whether it be to write a chapter, a scene, a
paragraph or just a sentence. It's also important to stick to
that goal. Even if meeting it seems impossible when you first
sit down, this type of discipline can pay off and you'll often
find yourself writing beyond your goal or harvesting new ideas
that wouldn't have appeared if you had skipped your writing
session that day. At the very least, you'll feel a sense of
accomplishment, something most writers need desperately.
Remind yourself that every writer is
different. Don't try to force yourself to follow another
writer's rules. Some writers outline heavily, some don't. Some
write every single day, some save weekends and evenings for
their family and treat writing like a nine to five job. Some
write in the morning, some at night. Some write the book
straight through, others edit as they go along. Any way that
works for you is the right way.
Remember that it's supposed to be
fulfilling. Be kind to yourself and remember that just as there
is no such thing as the perfect book, there is no such thing as
the perfect writer. We all slip and fall, we all wish we could
be better than we are. The key is to enjoy the process, so....
enjoy! |