"Fight the good fight of faith" is a phrase I found recently while reading the New Testament. It has a lot of meaning for me in many facets of my personal life, but lately I've been chanting it over and over to myself while sitting down to write.
I've never not won NaNoWriMo (I am very stubborn, what can I say), but this year I've come closer to giving up than I ever have. I thought that with so many books under my belt, drafting this novel would be a piece of cake. Well, it hasn't been, to say the least. Some days I fly through my 1,667 words, but most days it's a slog.
Maybe it's because I'm presently querying last year's NaNo project. One night I paused in writing to update my word count, and took a break to check my query inbox. There was yet another form rejection letter waiting for me. It made writing very difficult that night, unsurprisingly. On the flip side, I've also gotten three full requests this month. Those made for easier writing nights. Although then there's the stress of wondering when I'm going to hear back from those agents. No wonder I find myself constantly on edge! Writing is a hard business to be in no matter how it's going.
When I tell myself to fight the good fight of faith while I write, it's a reminder that no matter how awful I think this first draft is, I need to keep going. I need to have faith in myself that I can take a rough first draft and edit and polish it until it's something I'm proud of. I need to have faith that there will be a payoff from all of this someday. I need to have faith that doing something I enjoy isn't a waste of time, even if there isn't a payoff in the form of being a published author.
As the immortal philosopher Steve Perry once said, "Don't stop believin'."
Please keep writing, my friends. Fight that good fight. Have faith.
Showing posts with label persistence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label persistence. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Trumpets and Writing
Last night, I took my son down to the school to sign him up for band and instrument lessons. He chose to try the trumpet. He's soooo excited to get started :) He set up his music stand in his room, has his book open to the first lesson, and is all ready for when he can bring his instrument home and start practicing.
Now, I know that some of that excitement will fade when he realizes how hard it is to learn how to properly play an instrument. And when he has to practice every day, even though there will be days he doesn't feel like it. And I know it might hurt his feelings when he plays something he thinks sounds really good only to have his sister tell him how bad it sounds (though I hope she won't do that!)
But I also know that if he keeps up with it, puts in the time and effort, someday in the not too distant future he'll start to sound pretty good. And if he continues with it, putting in more time and effort, he might actually sound pretty dang good.
Now he might try the trumpet for a few months and decide he'd rather play something else. Maybe another instrument will come easier for him, or he might just enjoy it more. As long as he puts in the time and effort into whatever he finally decides to stick with, I know he'll be successful in the long run.
Can you see where I'm going with this? :D
It's a lot like writing. Starting that brand new project, or starting to write for the very first time, there's always the excitement. Maybe you have a great "writer station" all set up. A new file or pad of paper open and waiting for the words you will pour out. An outline or head full of ideas just waiting to be explored.
And then that excitement can fade when the enormity of the task sinks in. Writing is a skill, one that takes a lot of time and effort to hone. There will be set backs and harsh critiques and somewhere along the way, you might decide you'd rather write YA instead of adult, or romance instead of thrillers. And that's okay.
As long as you can find what you love, stick with it and put in the time and effort necessary to really hone your craft, someday you will find the success you seek. :)
Now, I know that some of that excitement will fade when he realizes how hard it is to learn how to properly play an instrument. And when he has to practice every day, even though there will be days he doesn't feel like it. And I know it might hurt his feelings when he plays something he thinks sounds really good only to have his sister tell him how bad it sounds (though I hope she won't do that!)
But I also know that if he keeps up with it, puts in the time and effort, someday in the not too distant future he'll start to sound pretty good. And if he continues with it, putting in more time and effort, he might actually sound pretty dang good.
Now he might try the trumpet for a few months and decide he'd rather play something else. Maybe another instrument will come easier for him, or he might just enjoy it more. As long as he puts in the time and effort into whatever he finally decides to stick with, I know he'll be successful in the long run.
Can you see where I'm going with this? :D
It's a lot like writing. Starting that brand new project, or starting to write for the very first time, there's always the excitement. Maybe you have a great "writer station" all set up. A new file or pad of paper open and waiting for the words you will pour out. An outline or head full of ideas just waiting to be explored.
And then that excitement can fade when the enormity of the task sinks in. Writing is a skill, one that takes a lot of time and effort to hone. There will be set backs and harsh critiques and somewhere along the way, you might decide you'd rather write YA instead of adult, or romance instead of thrillers. And that's okay.
As long as you can find what you love, stick with it and put in the time and effort necessary to really hone your craft, someday you will find the success you seek. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)