Have you ever heard an author talk about their novel? Every single one of them will have the hard parts. For some, it’s the first draft, for others, revision. And it can be broken down even further – some have a hard time starting, others hate the middles and still others want anyone to just write to The End for them.
Writing is hard.
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| Copy of Eliot’s writing with Pound’s critiques |
I’m convinced it may be one of the most difficult things we do. And every year, when I see a new batch of high school students battling through the process, I’m reminded of the difficulty.
Some people want to say writing has gotten more difficult because people don’t read as much or too much standardized testing or whatever, but if people like Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot and Ernest Hemingway, what is our excuse then?
Here’s what I know.
Just over a year ago, Mette Ivie Harrison and Rick Walton presented a small workshop in which they both said they couldn’t think of a single author who stayed with it who wasn’t published.
Ally Condie wrote four books and a compilation for a small publisher before Matched. And she works stinkin’ hard.
Kathryn Stockett was rejected 60 times for her little book called The Help.
If you are writing right now, you are engaged in a battle. Sure, there maybe moments of romanticism between you and the MS, but the simple fact is you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask if you have what it takes. If you do, you will. Success is there for the people who keep their heads up and do hard work. LOTS of hard work.
But you have to decide. And you have to have the courage to stick by your decision.
But you can win.
When do you have most of your battles with your writing? Do you have other who inspire you?
Thinking Through Our Fingers 
I have a hard time with endings. I just wrote about it on my blog earlier this week. Recently, I feel like I have a lot more support and I now feel more compelled to complete some writing projects.
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the pic looks something like my writing notebook… 🙂
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Just what I needed today. Thank you, Tasha! And since you asked who inspires me, take a look at the contributors list on this blog. Love you guys.
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