Never, Never, Never Give Up

I don't know what it is about writing that makes us want to give up on it so easily.

I guess for me it's that life is busy and full, but writing takes time and solitude.

And then there's always the critique, the rejections, the subjective judgments of my work. Leanna Ellis once told me, "It occurred to me the other day that I don't go to my friends' or families' work places to see what they're doing and what kind of work they've produced. But when they read my books, that's what they're doing."

Yep, we writers have to have the guts of a Spartan warrior, the heart of a Greek poet, and the determination of a little bulldog of a man like Winston Churchill.

My friend, novelist Jodi Thomas, is an inspiration to me. She's published nearly thirty books and been on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists multiple times. She's won three RITA awards and been inducted into the Romance Writer's Hall of Fame. On her website she writes,

It surprises me sometimes when people come to visit and say, “Oh, you’re so lucky to be gifted. I wish I had such a talent.”

They have no idea. I’m not gifted at all, or lucky. I stumbled hundreds of times. For every award there are a dozen contests where I didn’t place. For every book that sees daylight, there are at least four drafts still hiding in the dark.

Like Jodi, for whatever reason, I can't give up. Sometimes I wish I could.

But not really.

So, what keeps you writing?