A Quote With Three Pieces of Good Advice For Writers

This three-pronged quote gives food for thought to all of us who write. Let's look at them one at a time.

Believe:  I've written many times about the importance of believing in yourself. If you don't, who else is going to? If not, you might give up submitting your work. Remember that the only way to get published is to submit. And keep on submitting. Believe that some of what you submit will end up in print. It may not happen at the very beginning of your writing journey but it will if you keep working at the craft, keep growing as a writer. Do all you can to gain self-confidence. Google articles on same if you must. Remind yourself of the good things that have happened in your writing life. Read that wonderful children's book, The Little Engine That Could a dozen times or whenever you feel your self-confidence slipping.

Patience:  Yes, here it is again. That keyword for success in the wriitng world--patience.  Instant success in the writing world is pretty rare. Most of us have to work at the craft for quite some time before we achieve success. If we start submitting to smaller circulation publications, we have a better chance than if we send our precious words to top paying magazines who take only the highest quality works. Yes, it's hard to wait for good things to happen but it's well worth it. Practice patience in all things but especially in your writing life.

Best things:  This one appears obvious, doesn't it? Don't give up--three little words packed with power. She/he who gives up is going to be the biggest loser. Perseverance has always been the other keyword that I equate with patience in my writing world. Easy? Definitely not.

In fact, none of these three points is an easy task. You'll have to work at each of them, and not for a day or a week but all the time. Our writing journey is an ongoing process and the tools we need to write well can be added to as time moves on. We also need to keep reminding ourselves of these three points. It might be beneficial to print the quote and keep it near your writing area as a reminder. We often get excited about good advice but, as time goes on, we forget and slip back into old ways.

Keep working toward good things, better things, best things.