Persistence Pays

The most important tool an emerging writer can cultivate is persistence. Too many writers give up too quickly. They let struggles such as writing blocks and rejections stop their forward momentum. Some writers quit just as they are about to experience some success. Many writers never get the journey started, being so afraid of failure that they don't even take those first important steps. It is absolutely critical to your writing life that you persist in spite of the frustrations and failures, in spite of the odds, and never stop in your tracks. You must learn to look at these setbacks as part of the natural progression of your writing career, know that they are normal, and trust that you will get beyond them. Your setbacks as a writer, particularly rejections, need to be kept in perspective. They are rejections of pieces of your writing but not of your writing as a whole and certainly not of you as a writer. Rejections are a bump in the road, not a head-on collision. Remember that many fine works were rejected multiple times before being published. The difference is that the writers didn't give up. They persisted in spite of what seemed to be overwhelming odds, kept believing in their work, and eventually found the path to publishing success. Persist with your writing, even when there seems to be no reason to, keep your momentum going, and never stop believing in yourself and your writing. You will find that your persistence pays the sweet rewards of a lasting and successful writing career.