I was thinking today about careers. Most people decide when they go to college what their eventual career will be. They then go to school for 2 years, 4 years, sometimes 6 or more. But when they're done, it's pretty much a guarantee that they will be handed their dream career. (Of course I am talking before the current economic status.)
Except for a writer. At least a fiction writer anyway.
In my experience so far, you can work and work and write and write and no matter how hard you work, it doesn't increase your chances of publishing success. Yes, honing your craft and keeping at it will definitely make you a better writer and we all hope that persistence will pay off someday, but there's no guarantee. Any writer, no matter their age, schooling or if they write for 10 hours a day or 10 minutes, they can never ever know if their dreams will come true.
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I suppose you just have to hang in there and keep going and learning until you realize your dream. :-) I'm not so sure teaching is my dream career...although I love it.
ReplyDeleteI know! It's so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI really like this Thomas Paine quote: "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value." I think it fits well with writing. :)
I agree 100%...but it's so hard to face the reality that I might work and work for years and years and give it everything I have...and there's still no guarantee......
ReplyDeleteI think that's the thing about any career in the "arts" whether it be writing or painting or theatre...clearly we do it because we love it. It would be nice to "reach the top" or get published or sell a painting or be a broadway success for example-but with all those creative pursuits-even if "it" never happens-we continue to write, paint, act. It's part of who we are and we continue despite the kudos you get in a traditional "career" or vocation-because we just truly love the craft in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteI know! My husband went through four years of undergrad, four years of graduate school and four years of specialty training and STILL came out ahead of me. lol
ReplyDeleteI've been around the writing world for a decade or so now and what I've noticed is that those writers who keep writing, who will take critiques with aplomb and use them in the intended light, and who keep submitting and resubmitting get published.
ReplyDeleteSo don't give up. Work with a critique partner or group. Read a lot.
You'll do great!
Thanks! I found a fantastic critique group a little over 2 years ago...I call them my writing soulmates. I have no intention of giving up....but sometimes it's hard to see the light....especially on days when all I see are rejections.
ReplyDeleteI don't care whether I get published or not. Being able to write is such an accomplishment for me.
ReplyDeleteI had a severe brain injury as a child and was told I would probably never speak or write 'properly' again.
I now have a Degree (Hons) in English and have written two novels. Being published would just be the sprinkles on the cherry on the cake.