*******
I've got a hypothetical question for you--well, maybe two actually. Say there was this fortune teller who is NEVER wrong (obviously this is one part that makes it hypothetical--you cannot cheat and say that maybe the fortuneteller was wrong. She wasn't. Trust me), and she could tell if you would someday be a published author. Would you want to know? AND, if the fortune teller's answer was no, would you keep writing?
6 comments:
Mmmm? I don't think I'd want to know. Knowing we'd get published might cause us to get sloppy or complacent and not work as hard. I think I work harder and more consciously for a new editor than one who's published my stuff before.
I'd write, even if I knew no one would ever read it but me. I read somewhere that you have to write for yoursef.
I think I'd want to know. I wouldn't quit writing, but I'd quit sending stuff out--which is the part I dislike anyway.
Of course, not knowing means hope is always alive somewhere way deep down and that is what keeps me struggling and sending stuff out.
Sara,
Interesting... what's your assumption if you know? Do you get published, or not? I've been published, poetry and shorter pieces like articles, but will my book get published? This is cheating, because I know that it will already.
I recently heard someone say that if we knew what was ahead of us in life we couldn't bear it. I don't know if that's true. I know I'm better off staying in the day, in the 'now'. And I know I'm better off writing than not - it focuses my thoughts and ideas and helps me notice more. I'd keep writing even if I knew no one would ever read another word. Heck, I've filled up dozens of notebooks with stuff that will never be read by anyone.
Keep writing!
Mike
And does the knowing itself change the outcome? Like Larry said, if we knew, maybe we wouldn't work as hard at being published--or maybe if we didn't know we'd work harder and become better and eventually get published--of course, this is cheating because the fortuneteller knows all.
But we are constantly changing the course of our destiny with every single decision we make. Mind boggling to think about.
Mostly I wanted to remind myself (and make other people think about it as well) why I write. EVEN IF I NEVER GET PUBLISHED, I won't quit writing because that is NOT why I write.
And look, Larry doesn't want to know and I do and yet we would both keep writing no matter what. Because we are writers and that is what we do.
Maybe Mike is the fortune teller. Self-publishing means you can predict whether or not your book will be published. Now look deep into your crystal ball and tell me how many copies you will sell. : )
When I lamented, to a fishing guide on the North Branch of the Au Sable River, the number of years I missed by taking up fly-fishing later in life--I did dabble at it as a teen--he told me; "We arrive at the place we are supposed to be when we are supposed to get there." In my case maybe I needed all those years outdoors to gain the knowledge and confidence that I had something worth saying. Maybe the same is true of writing.
I had a piece published in "Woods-N-Water News" this month and I can honestly say, nothing inspires me to write like getting published. I just need to learn to keep focused on the ideas I have.
Congratulations! You inspire me to keep trying.
Post a Comment