I have been trying to do this blog post for a couple of weeks now. Faith. Good subject for writers. We all got to have it. But where does it come from and how do we harness it. In Steve Pressfield’s War of Art, he discusses how difficult it is to show up to the artistic battlefield every day. He says that Resistance (capital R) is a force, an entity, that works against us, and we must fight back.
You will find a thousand, thousand reasons not to show up to the field. Your kid is sick, your job is overwhelming, the dishes must be done, the cat just threw up on your feet, and unless you find that compelling reason to ignore the horde of distractions, you won’t sit down and do it. The little voice tells you: give up, give in, it’s too hard. No one will read your tripe anyway. Why are you wasting time?
But that is your first clue. When this little voice makes some noise you know you are following your soul’s purpose, cause Resistance doesn’t push back unless you are about to break through to do something original, unique, maybe even dangerous. You are about to put your heart and soul out into the world for people to judge.
If you can get through Resistance, if you can have faith and write, you have already succeeded. In moving forward and in creating, you conquer your fear and realize in the end the only judge that matters is you.
I judge myself more harshly for giving up than I ever will for trying. So get out there, beat Resistance with a wire coat hanger and try having a bit’o faith. That’s what I’m doing.
I think in the writing world, perseverence is more important than talent. I mean, you have to have both, but one without the other–well, if you’re persistent enough, you can learn how to make it work. But if you don’t have the persistence…talent alone is never going to get you there.
Great post! And a lesson I need…..
Yes! Persistence is so much more important than raw talent. I’ve seen so many talented writers give up. while less perfect prose skyrockets up the NYT Bestseller list. Keep plugging. Keep pushing. Keep learning. That’s my motto. 😀 Thanks for stopping by, Kelly.