Writers and Persistence

Do you want to write novels? Perhaps no aspect of writing is more important than persistence.

Have you ever run a marathon? Talk about needing persistence.

There are lots of quotes about persistence, and most of them ring true. The most famous may be the one by Calvin Coolidge, who was our 30th president. 

Coolidge said, 

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” (Read: Persistence is the single most important thing to getting your book done.) 

A shorter quote about persistence comes from Woody Allen.

"Eighty percent of success is just showing up." (Read: Just keep showing up at your writing desk - whatever that is - until you finish the book and, then, keep editing and rewriting until you make the book good.)

Shorter still is the famous Nike ad line "Just Do It." (Read: Just do it.)

For writers, the message is clear. 

Is there a single rigorous approach that gets the book done? No. For example, many times people assume that there are certain techniques that are critical to writing. Perhaps the most common is that you supposedly have to write a certain amount every day. While that may be smart, it isn't necessary. Although I work full time as a writer, I don't write every day. There are too many other writing-business chores to allow me the luxury of writing every day. A daily writing goal is great but hard to achieve. I still have a writing goal. It is annual rather than daily. I have to finish the book by a certain day each year. Then I have to do it again next year. Then again and again. Just do it.

Over time, my bookshelf grows.

Is there a good time to start this slow but steady creation? Yes.

RIGHT NOW. Just do it.

P.S. 

Many writers do two or more books a year. I'm more like the slow tortoise. I've only been doing one book a year. If you only average one page a day (or 7 pages a week), you can still write a book in a year. You could, for example, plan to get an entire month's worth of writing (30 pages) done in two intense days of creation. Having said that, I don't recommend that approach, as it moves perilously far afield from what works best for writers. Even slow writers know that writing every day is ideal.

So all of us who haven't gotten our book done need to remember Coolidge/Allen/Nike. Stop hesitating. Stop waiting for inspiration. Stop looking for the perfect moment/place/time to be a writer.

Just do it.

P.P.S. While I make no promises, I am writing more than one book a year, slowly building a second series. Check back in two or three years to see if it produces much of a result.