“The long-lived books of tomorrow are concealed somewhere amongst the so-far unpublished [manuscripts] of today.” ~Philip Unwin, author
Tucked within today’s quote is both hope — and the promise of hard work.
Every writer I know has at least one manuscript waiting to be published … one story waiting to be told. Some writing friends have two finished manuscripts. Or four. Or more.
Wasted words?
No.
Waiting to be published words.
It’s all a part of the process. We’re writers — we write. We are not in control of whether our manuscripts are published. The Great and Powerful Oz … um, I mean the pub board is the deciding factor.
But we have every chance — every hope — of hearing the longed for yes.
And this is where the hard work comes in. The writing. And rewriting, which is another word for e-d-i-t-i-n-g. And learning our craft so the next manuscript is better than the last.
Hope and hard work — two key facets of a writer’s life.
In Your Words: What gives you hope as a writer? And how do you stay at the hard work of writing? What are you doing this week — today — to improve your craft?
Comments 27
What gives me hope as a writer? Initially, the characters and situations in my book were too close to real-life versions. Now, they have morphed into their own. And as weird as it may sound, it’s wonderfully encouraging to me to see it. They are definitely their own people and I want to follow them through their own trials and triumphs.
My faith spurs me on. Many times, I have prayed that if this is not the path I am to take, that God make it very, very clear. So far, the road keeps stretching out ahead. I am not tired, so I see that as a blessing to continue. Also, it’s wonderful to see people you admire succeed in the field…example: you and Melissa Tagg. Yay, that she just got an agent.
I nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blogger award because I think you fit the bill perfectly. But feel no obligation to participate. http://volunteerfringe.com/2012/07/11/who-inspires-you/
Marney,
Thank you for the encouragement today. You’ll never know how timely it was — a refreshing gulp of cold water.
Hope comes from trusting God’s plan will prevail. Also, I have hope in all the awesome ways publishing is changing.
~ Wendy
As always, I love your attitude, my friend. One of the reasons I love hanging with you.
🙂
Hard work. Yes! I made a theme for my summer–which I realize is kind of silly, but it has honestly helped push me. Theme: Trust God. Work Hard. The hard work would be pointless if I didn’t trust God was moving behind the scenes. The trusting God would be pointless if I didn’t act on that trust and *work*.
What gives me hope? The smaller goals met along the way to bigger goals. Encouraging family and friends. And honest-to-goodness belief that God delights in giving us dreams and seeing them to fruition.
Amen and Amen!
And what a delight to see your dreams coming true, Melissa! Expecting so many wonderful things for you!
What gives me hope is knowing, deep down, that this is where God has called me. Every step along the way, I try to look back up at Him and ask, “This is still the way you want me to go, right?” He never says no, almost as if it’s my choice. And yet, it’s not a choice, not really. It’s a passion burning so deeply in my soul that to ignore it would have catastrophic consequences for my life.
And on the days when that passion isn’t enough? When discouragement defeats me? When rejections abound? That’s when God is gracious enough to send me friends to talk me off the ledge, to remind me that He has a plan for me and my writing. It won’t be like anyone else’s. But it’ll be just as beautiful if I let Him lead.
Thanks for being one of those encouragers, Beth. Your words, friendship, and ministry to me have meant the world. I love to see how you reach out to those behind you in the writing journey, crook an arm, and say, “Come on. Let’s go.”
Lindsay:
I love how you said: “[God} has a plan for me and my writing. It won’t be like anyone else’s. But it’ll be just as beautiful if I let Him lead.”
Wise, wise words.
Love you, friend.
What gives me hope? Believing I am fulfilling God’s plan for my life. If I do my part (write, learn, apply), I’ll be at the right place when God opens the door to being published. Great post!
Thanks, Pat.
It’s been so fun to see God opening doors for you!
Absolutely God gives me hope, but frequently He does it through those around me, particularly the crew at My Book Therapy! Writing is a lonely, discouraging road without the company of others to cheer you one.
Agreed, Edie, agreed!
Beth, you always ask thought-provoking questions! My hope is centered on the knowledge that God’s timing is perfect. The hard work is focusing on each task at hand. If I can keep those two things in prospective, I have peace about my writing.
Kathy,
I honed my question asking skills in journalism school.
😉
Love your perspective.
Seeing other writers succeed and feeling the excitement around their success gives me so much hope. My dear friend used to always say, “Hang with the winners.” I figure that’s where the hope is. What keeps me writing? I get really irritable and scared when I don’t. And projects for right now include one deadline and more blog posts. Thanks for sharing hope and other wonderful stuff always.
“The Great and Powerful Oz …” LOL! It does feel like there’s a misguided old man behind a curtain somewhere pulling strings and generally complicating my one wish to make it “home.” But at least he’s not trying to steal my fabulous footwear. That’s something.
🙂
Love your attitude, E!
I know you are going to make it to the Emerald City — and all the way home, my friend! You’re gonna be popular … sing it with me!
I did not choose writing, God chose it for me. I am SO thankful!!!
He has seen fit to give me feet that hurt like needles of fire when I over do it. I can’t even walk barefoot from the bed to the dresser. That’s 8 feet.
My back was badly injured 15 years ago.
I have arthritis from my feet up to my neck.
Pain is as common to me as breathing.
But I CAN walk to the places I need to be and do what needs to be done to write.
But I can dream. I can ponder. I can go places that have never been. I can talk to people who never were. I can arrange marriages that would scandalize a nation.
All because He has given me a desire to tell stories.
And learn from others who’ve gone before me to tell the stories well.
God has not called me to be perfect.
But He has called me.
Jennifer …
I am all about life being satisfying without having to be perfect.
I so want to hang out with you face to face one day, this side of heaven.
What a great post, Beth! What gives me hope as a writer to keep going forward is that soft voice inside of me that inspires my pen, the friends around me that encourage my heart, and a God so powerful that nothing is impossible!
Embracing all 3 of those things too, Michelle.
Beth, what beautiful, refreshing words here today. The quote. What you added. Your love for the writing craft. It’s all just beautiful, and especially: “Hope and hard work — two key facets of a writer’s life.” Both for a writer’s life and life in general – hope in God and the diligence to do what He’s called us to do. Love this!
Thank you, Donna.
Your words always encourage and refresh me. So happy to do the same for you.
🙂
Wow, you do great at inspiring and evoking considerable and excellent comment response. I had to turn aside from WIP to meet some other writing deadlines, plus take care of grands, and when I finally got back to WIP, found myself to handle it more comfortable and w/ fresh insights–that is encouraging.
I found another writer’s book that I want to order–need to keep studying the craft. I also let some writer friends critique my first chapter–learned so much about what a reader wants doing that. I will just keep working at it!
Wow, talk about encouragement, Beth. Thank you for these words!
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