Today I printed a draft layout of Patchwork and Ornament. Taken from the journals and writings of my late mother-in-law, Jenny Feldman, P&O details her life from growing up in the South Bronx during the Depression, to her life as an artist and world traveler.
While I have a ways to go before it’s ready to go to print, I get goosebumps looking at the work. I am totally in love with it, not just because I love the author but because I think it’s really good.
Last year I left my corporate job with the intention of taking a year off to write. At the end of that year, my husband and I decided to extend my hiatus indefinitely, and each day I head to my writing area by about 8:00 a.m. and go to work. As with any job, some days I don’t want to do it. Some days the writing doesn’t go well, or I wonder if I will ever learn to write at all.
But today, when I look at the draft and see how far it’s come in a short time, I am filled with a satisfaction and joy that I find nowhere else. In these moments, just as after childbirth, I forget the pain and gaze with wonder at this new creation.
Writing can be isolating, lonely, and discouraging at times. We work hard, sometimes for years, and the work doesn’t always see the printed light of day. Even if it does, it may not sell. Still, I accept this life because of these magical moments, when everything comes together, and I feel like I know who I am.
Keep up the writing! It is good for your soul and erase those doubts about whether your book will sell. Think kindly of yourself. Keys to success 1- Desire – meaning dreams, passsion and mission for what you are doing. 2- Honesty and Forgiveness – dont beat yourself up if some days you have a writers block – take a break get out into the world, experiene something new and creativity will come. 3- Goal Setting – set your goals and dont let anything deter you from meeting them.Persist, persist. If one thing doesnt work – try another! 4- Dedication… Read more »
I appreciate your desire to motivate and advise, but you’re preaching to the choir! Although I’ve been writing full-time for just a year, I wrote while working a day job for more than ten years. I’m proud to say that my first book came out in 1999, and I edited another that same year. Plus, there have been articles, essays, and short stories published in the meantime. It does take all those items you mention to continue as a writer, especially when there are day jobs, family responsibilities, and other possible distractions. I’m very fortunate to focus my full attention… Read more »
Sounds brilliant. I think people who love to write should write and do everything in their power to get published, or self-publish through other means. Congratulations on getting the first draft done.
I feel the same way, and just posted a line saying that writing does not feel like work. Mind you, I do it in small spurts, having young children has a way of doing that. My family feels it when days go by and I don;t manage to sit “would you go write already?!”
I have had to ask myself, would I still write if nothing I wrote was ever read? Absolutely. It is a need.