FREE KINDLE FOR PC

FREE KINDLE FOR PC
So you can read my books

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

IWSG post: HOW TO MAKE PEACE WITH THE SHARK OF REJECTION



YOU CHOSE TO SWIM IN 
SHARK-INFESTED WATERS


We all did when we became writers.


You don't step into the ring 
unless you can take a punch


But you will be knocked down 
more than you will win.

That's just the nature of the business.

The key is to find the strength and grit
to get back up.


In 1923, Babe Ruth held the record for ...

HOME RUNS in a season

HIGHEST BATTING RECORD

and

He STRUCK OUT more times 
than any other
Major League player 
that season.

He said:

"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."

"Every strike brings me closer 
to the next home run."

"Never let the fear of striking out 
keep you from the game."



Ray Bradbury started out young as a writer --
at 12,
writing on the only paper available:
Butcher's Paper
since it was the Great Depression.


He kept on getting rejected. 

 He promised himself that he would quit if he could not sell a story by the 500th rejection.

You guessed it: 

he sold a story on his 500th attempt.

"You have to learn to take rejection, not as an indication of personal failing, but as a wrong address."

Ray Bradbury said:

"Man has always been half-monster, 
half-dreamer.

Once you understand that,
then you can write a full story."



Writing is not a sprint.

It is a marathon.

And you win a marathon by 
always moving forward.

And enjoying the race doesn't hurt either.

Listen to the wisdom
of Ray Bradbury
and
grow as a writer:


16 comments:

  1. Bradbury stuck with it that long and some give up after only twenty...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen King papered his walls with rejection slips, but kept on. That is grit! :-)

      Delete
  2. 500th attempt! That's sticking to it--and it paid off!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It sure did, Holli, and he is one of my chief inspirations. Truman Capote sold his first story ... I try not to hate him. :-)

      Delete
  3. A great pep talk, Roland! The best actually.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Writing is not a sprint, it's a marathon--I love that! So true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes I hope for a second wind that seems tardy in coming! Good luck with your run! :-)

      Delete
  5. 500 - half that what it took Edison to discover the light bulb.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that Babe Ruth quote. It's very true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, never let fear of striking out keep you from stepping up to the plate. :-)

      Delete
  7. A writer has to believe in himself/herself even when no one else will, knowing that, in the end, there is no guarantee of success (however that might be measured).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To me, success is staying true to who you believe you are and all can be. :-)

      Delete