writerjenn

Appetizer

Just last week I was exploring the idea of male and female voice in writing. So I was quite interested in this thought-provoking post from Janni Simner about boys, girls, and reading.


Main Course

Today's topic is patience.

Writers are often asked what it takes to be a writer. We have loads of answers. It takes a love of language. It takes persistence, commitment, observational skills, etc., etc. I don't know how often we mention that it also takes patience.

It takes patience to rewrite a scene forty times, trying to get it right.
It takes patience to reread a manuscript fifty times, making sure it holds together.
It takes patience to put aside a manuscript when you hit a brick wall, and wait for that mental shift that will solve the problem. It takes patience to accept that the manuscript may have to sit for years while you work on something else.
It takes patience to write background and character sketches and other things that you know will never end up in the finished manuscript, because you need to work through these things to get to the story.
It takes patience to do research.
It takes patience to wait for answers to your queries/manuscripts.
It takes patience to put aside a rejection letter and send out a new submission.
It takes patience to wait for the acceptance letter/contract/advance check/royalty statement to arrive in the mail.
It takes patience to wait for the next milestone, whether it's the cover, the first-pass pages, the book launch, the paperback edition, the foreign edition, the sequel, or the award announcement.
It takes patience to accept that there will always be something new to wait for.

Am I venturing too far if I say that every writer is waiting for something? Pull up a chair and enjoy the sunset in the meantime.


Dessert

And while we're waiting, let's amuse ourselves with Sarah Rees Brennan's tales of pacifist sock monkeys and cereal fights.