Here’s To You, the Writer

Boy, I was going to write about something totally different today, until I sat down to write this…Oh well, that’s the way it goes and that’s what I feel. So, here it is…Hope you’re ready for this one!

It’s tough being a writer. Sometimes, it’s really tough. You face days, week, months (a lifetime?) of creating in silence only to reveal your work in the hope that someone–anyone–out there likes it. That it connects. But during the process you have no idea whether you are will connect or not. It’s not like music or acting, where you can FEEL whether you’re bombing immediately. You just have to move forward, in faith, believing you’re not bombing. That can be tough.

You face being ignored, being rejected, (being laughed at!), being underpaid or not even paid at all! And for what? What? So you can leave a few scraps of papers with your etching on it for later generations.

I’m sorry if I paint too bleak a picture. But here’s the thing…Despite…Despite all these things, there are those of us who do it. Who persist. Despite the rejection, the fear, the trepidation, the low pay…And, most importantly, I want you to know that despite all these things, it’s still worth it. I still believe it’s what I’m here to do.

And maybe, just maybe you feel the same. So, Writer, here’s to you. Despite the long hours, the anxiety, the hard work, the rejection, the low pay. You have found it worth persisting. (After all, you’re here, reading this blog…Aren’t you?). You live, in part, for those great writing days where you really nail it, for that perfect scrap of dialogue, that well-crafted metaphor, the one gesture from your protagonist that says it all without them uttering a single word.

And if someone likes it. Laughs or sighs or weeps when they read it, all the better. And if someone wants to pay you a million dollars to make it into a movie, that’s great too. But it’s the quality of writing and the act itself where the real triumph lies. Not in the awards or money or recognition. All those external things are dust already…The writing…The writing is what remains down a thousand years.

Don’t lose that, that joy, and you’ll keep it up alright. Just like me.

Best of luck, Writer, and I hope I become your reader some day.

Keep it up,

Darius