The Big Three

Sounds easy, doesn't it? Let's look at each of the items this quote tells us we must have to achieve our dream of writing well enough to be published. I call them The Big Three.

1. Patience  When they handed out patience, a whole lot of folks got bypassed. I think I was one of them. All my life, I've been an impatient person. I don't like to wait. When I make up my mind to do something or I want something, I prefer to have it happen right away. But that's not the way life works most of the time. I have jokingly said more than once that God made me a writer to teach me to have patience. For in the writing world, patience is a must-have trait. Write, submit to an editor and then you wait. And wait. And wait.  Patience can be learned but it doesn't happen in a hurry. Patience begets patience!

2.  Strength  We need to be strong in our convictions and show strength in our passion for writing. When you run into a brick wall, ie rejection of your work, you can't deflate like a pin-pricked balloon. You need that  I'll show them attitude. Every time you fall down, get up and start writing again. Like patience, I think strength begets strength.

3.  Passion  Writing is hard work. We need a passion for writing in order to keep going. Desire to be published will feed your passion. Did you ever want a toy as a child so badly that you'd have gone to any length to acquire  it? There was a certain doll I wanted but my mother said no. I begged, I reasoned, I argued. I didn't give up my desire for that doll that looked like and was the size of a real baby. Just when it looked like an impossibility, I received the doll on Christmas morning. If I'd asked only once, I probably would never have gotten it. Keep your desire to be published foremost in your mind every time you sit down to write. Be persistent in your passion for writing.

If you have patience, strength and passion, I think you've already accomplished the trying part. The key is to never stop trying. Keep the Big Three working all the time.