R is for Relentless, Resolute Writers

Dear Relentless, Resolute Writers,

You are amazing.

You juggle so many things in between your writing.  Maybe you have a day job and you moonlight as a writer by night.  Maybe you have a night job and work in a little bit of writing during the day.  Maybe you're so bogged down with homework that you have no idea how you're going to type out anything except your finals.  Maybe you're running your children back and forth to their extracurricular activities.  Maybe you have a huge, bustling family.  Maybe you live by yourself.

You all have one thing in common: you're writing a book.  Fiction, non-fiction, adult, YA, MG, children's, memoir, novel-length, novella, short-story, series.  You could be on your twentieth novel.  You could be on your first.  You could write a whole book in a month.  You could take three years to do it.

But no matter what you're juggling or where you are on your writing path, you're sticking with it.  Sometimes you're so tired and discouraged that it's all you can do to drag one foot in front of the other.  Sometimes you're on Cloud 9 because you just got the proofs back from your editor and you know you are so close to holding your book in your hands.  Sometimes you want to throw your manuscript against the wall because you just do not know why anyone would ever want to read it.  Sometimes you are elated and giddy when someone read and loved your story.

Writing is not easy.  It's a constant process of growing, changing, learning, developing.  Writing, editing, revising, more editing, rewriting, did I mention editing?, sending to beta readers/critique partners, writing summaries, researching publishers/agents, writing queries, sending queries, getting rejections, and waiting.

There is a lot of waiting in writing.

Still, here you are, plodding down your path, or perhaps running down it.  You are sticking with it no matter how hard it is because you have a story to tell.  Even though sometimes you might feel like quitting, you're not going to because you love writing, because you have a story, because you want to say something with your words, or because of many other personal reasons.

To all of you relentless, resolute writers: my hat is off to all of you, no matter what stage you're in.  I hope that you can hold onto the joy of writing in the frustrating moments, and that you can see the worth in your words in those times when doubt whispers to you.

This is your story and only you can tell it.  I wish an amazing, beautiful journey for you.

All the best,
A Fellow Writer