Truth About Writing

I've been writing hard today. Writing. Rewriting. Researching. Write 10 words, delete 9. Writing is very much like the old cliche, one step forward, two steps back.

I've been getting a lot of emails, very nice and friendly, but they all want to know when Old Enough To Know Better is going to be published so I feel encouraged to work even harder.

William J. Wilmont Buxton said: "No great work is ever done in a hurry. To develop a great scientific discovery, to paint a great picture, to write an immortal poem, to become a minister, or a famous general -- to do anything great requires time, patience, and perseverance. These things are done by degrees, little by little. Milton did not write Paradise Lost at a sitting, nor did Shakespeare compose Hamlet in a day.

The greatest writers must begin with the alphabet; the most famous musicians once picked out their notes laboriously; a child must learn to draw a straight line before he can develop into a Titian or a Michelangelo."

To Reiterate

I'm not comparing my modest writing with the greats of literature, but the greatest writers must begin with the alphabet. Just like me. With words. Every writer must start there. To do anything great requires time, patience, and perseverance.

Takeaway Truth

Time, patience, and perseverance. Better cultivate them all if you want to achieve anything worthwhile in life.