"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop." --Confucius
by Joanne Rock
I don’t
claim to be a wise old crone, but nothing reminds me of how long I’ve been in
the writing business faster than speaking to a writing group. Earlier this
month I had the pleasure of speaking to the Tampa RWA chapter about tropes and
series romance. It was a fun topic, and the group was a supportive, engaged
audience.
The joy of
events like this continue after the formal topic is done and I have the chance
to speak with members of the group individually. Writers begin sharing more
about their journeys, and firing questions of all kinds. We talk about the
writing process, the drive to maintain creativity, the tricks behind writing
synopses, but most importantly, we talk about persistence.
Because by
and large, I hope that’s what I offer people attending workshops that I give—reminders
of how big a role tenacity plans in what we do. I hope that through my own tale
of persistence (six full manuscripts, a partial and at least five synopses for
other stories completed before I ever sold a single word I wrote) will provide
some inspiration for writers who are drowning in rejections. Not many of us get
to that first sale without wading through those waters. It can be disheartening.
Creatively draining. But it’s truly part of the process.
That’s the point
of the workshop where I feel the wisest. Not because I know a lot about
tropes,
or series, or any single point of craft. But I do know what that slog through
rejection feels like. I’ve been there, fending off complete demoralization with
nothing but blind faith and a good dose of stubbornness. It takes grit to keep
writing in spite of the odds, to keep teaching yourself and flexing the writing
muscle to improve. I remember that what helped keep my feet on the path were
the occasional tales from the trenches from other authors who took many years
and many manuscripts to make that first sale.
So more
than any writing wisdom, I hope that I pass along some of that courage in the
face of rejection. I hope that I'm inspiring a certain level of persistence. If
I succeed at this, I’ve given a truly valuable a gift. Finding the courage to
believe in your dreams is hard to come by, but we close ourselves off to too
many wonderful possibilities if we don’t keep taking steps to achieve them.
*** From a pep talk for a girlfriend to a heart-to-heart
with a nervous child, we all take on the role of mentor and cheerleader
sometimes in or lives. When was the last
time you exercised your power to encourage someone in their goals? I'll give one random poster an advance copy of book 1 in my new Dynasties: Mesa Falls series, The Rebel!
