Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Tuesday's Inspiration - Based on a quote from On Becoming a Novelist
I've reached the end of John Gardner's On Becoming A Novelist and the final quote made me smile. "The true novelist is the one who doesn't quit."
Over the years I've been involved with so many writers and some of them were brilliant writers but they quit. This has always troubled me. How can someone give up something they enjoy doing? For many of them rejection was the reason. For others they didn't hit the Times best seller list, so they bailed. Others let life get in the way of doing what they enjoyed. Maybe they no longer enjoyed the day by day putting words on paper.
I did put my writing career on hold for a time for about 10 years, I didn't write anything but ideas since I'd returned to work as a nurse, But during that time I stored up many things and watching people at their best and worst gave me ideas. Also being around doctors allowed me to ask questions about things that might feature in stories in the future. Medical conditions, blows to the head, amnesia and other things I found to be of help when I retired and began writing.
I wasn't worried about hitting the best seller list but I did look forward to hearing from a reader about one of my books. When the NY markets became harder to crack I found electronic publishing and books that are 15 years old are still selling. I've seen this with other writers as well. So what's the trice.
Imagination, persistence, love of the written word. So if you want to be a novelist keep writing and find new and different ways to display your works.
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3 comments:
Hello Janet, loved your post today. It is so true what you said about writing and never giving up. I also quit writing for a while as I raised three kids and life did get in the way. I am now back to writing and painting and I hope I dont stop. I do though, have six published books from two publishers. I want to thank you for your article. It will give inspiration to many.
Love the post. I'm like a postman . Neither storms nor snow stop me, I'll throw in illness attacking way too often making me forget there's no rush. Flesh out the story. Thanks, Janet.
Great article, Janet. I never stopped writing but I did slow down some when I took on a fulltime job. Now that I'm retired my writing is my fulltime job and I love it!!!
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