There are probably one too many times where I wanted to do exactly what's happening in this picture. Just scream like my life depends on it. What I've realized, though, is that I don't need to. Support isn't something that ends when I'm at home --I can just as easily come on Blogger and be amazed by how our community builds a strong relationship through what we write.
Maybe it's because I'm a writer, but for some reason it seems people are always asking me why I don't give up. Whether it's my friends, my family, or just other random people... The major question is: Why not give up? Well hey, it's not like I've never gone down that road before. There have been days when I wanted to all together take everything I've written and quite literally throw it out the window. I thought about it, and even though then I wouldn't have to deal with more rejections from agents, what would that satisfy? I've spent a year working on Cursed with Power so far, and I spent five years (and it's still going on) on The Magic of Light. If I throw out every book and every short story I have written --no matter how well written they are or not--I'll be left with nothing. Do I really want to say for the last five and a half years of my life I've done absolutely nothing but written stories that no one will read? No. I haven't given up because this is something I've been chasing after my entire life. Before I realized I could write I came up with silly things I could do when I grew up --you know, be a princess and live in a fairy tale.
At the end of the day, writing is probably the most stressful thing we can put ourself through. Sure, maybe no one else can understand why we do it, and maybe we've felt like we've been altogether losing our minds with the reediting and the rejections. Truth is, this is a passion, a dream... a life. I've read a lot of blogs here and there where people were talking about what happens when they don't write. When I don't write I feel like there's something missing. Not just missing in my life, but missing in my soul. Does that make sense? I'm not sure, but I feel connected to the work I do and I'm not ashamed at the end of the day when I can look at what I've written and smile.
Someone once told me when I was writing The Magic of Light that I should give up. I was told that the story just wasn't good enough, and that after everything I went through it was time I moved on. Guess what? That book wasn't an ex-boyfriend --I didn't need to move on. I have that book saved, safe and sound so that someday in the future when I do get published, I can return to it and fix it to be better.
You shouldn't live life with regrets. If I hadn't started my writing career at 12, I might not have ever known what it was like to bring characters alive. And if I hadn't, where would I be now? Of course rejections bother me, and staring at the same chapter for an hour isn't exactly exciting. However, I cannot think of any other dream I rather be chasing after.
Besides, what about the characters in our books? I posted about this earlier, but when I think about how Celestria had to battle for her life and Alaire nearly died because of a fight he was involved in... I can deal with the rejections.
Giving up isn't an option :)
Be there for the magic: www.themagiciansseries.blogspot.com
3 Comments:
The life of a writer isn't easy. I just attended a conference this weekend. Established writers, editors agents all say the same thing - persistence is key. And keep writing!
Good for you! Perseverance is huge, and thanks to all our bloggy buddies, we can encourage each other during the tough times.
So far I've decided writers have to be the most focused bunch of people on the planet. When writing is a part of who you are, it's barely like work. Except it's the hardest thing I've ever done.
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