Writing's Not All Fun

 

If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.  An amusing quote for sure, but we can find some wisdom in it, too. 

If a writer hopes to be published, he/she keeps that dream front and center but sometimes becomes discouraged with all it takes to reach it. Things like: reading about the craft of writing, doing writing exercises, attending conferences and workshops, talking with other writers, editing and revising, and more. He/she also needs patience and perseverance. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that these are my two keywords, ones I've kept foremost in my mind as I've moved along my writing journey.

So yes, there are many parts of writing that we must put up with in order to reach that glorious goal of being published. Somewhere! Anywhere! Regularly! Doing the practical parts like exercises and editing is not as exciting as finding a story idea and running with it. That's when we feel inspired. Keep in mind that it takes many parts to make a whole. You cannot do only the ones that you like and skip the others. You'll never reach that 'whole' by doing that. 

You also aren't going to be able to reach the rainbow unless you practice both patience and perseverance. It takes time to become a published writer, so be willing to invest a lot of that precious item. The perseverance part comes in when you get batted down with one rejection after another. That's when you must not give up, when you must keep working at being a better writer, and when you need to learn how to select a market that fits your writing. 

Sure, a lot of that 'rain' falls upon us as we work our way through the writing path we've chosen. If you keep working at it, you'll begin to find that rainbow that you've dreamed about for a long time.