What does it take to be a successful writer? Read on!

I’m thinking today of timing—how important it is to success. Timing and perseverance: the two go together. I’m also noticing the seasonal aspect of creativity, how cyclic it is. That too is hard to grasp. I want it all the time. I’m afraid if it isn’t there, it won’t return. But I need to remember that if I pursue my creative impulses, and if they’re in accordance with my abilities, then there will be success. Maybe not financially, though that would be nice. But I’ll experience the satisfaction of achieving what I’m capable of.

I must keep in mind that the cup will empty, fullness will recede, as happens each night with the waxing and waning energies of the moon. I can’t help but hear “moo” when I write moon, those old nursery rhymes of the cow jumping over the moon still playing in my imagination. Of course, cows are very much moon creatures, with their emptying and filling, the various stomachs they have for digesting food that turns into nourishing milk. They’re a wonderful symbol for the creative person, and, in this case, the writer.

Perseverance is the key word. I need to keep this in mind to combat the bombardment of negative things I’m reading currently about being a writer. Not only can publishing be like finding a needle in a haystack—especially publishing fiction—but also only five percent of writers can support themselves from their writing.

Clearly, I don’t do it for the money. It’s a necessity for me. I write to stay whole, to explore the world and myself. I write because when I don’t, I feel at loose ends, as if I’m missing something important. And I am. I’m missing the flow of letters through my cells and the amazing things the words create on the page. It’s a kind of addiction that I hope to never withdraw from!