Revision update: I got some good stuff done today, and I feel like I’m finally getting a hang of these first few chapters, like things are finally starting to fit into place. Fingers crossed.
My father-in-law is coming to stay with us tomorrow, so, naturally, tonight I was cleaning up. As I put away all the papers and stuff that always accumulate in the kitchen, I came across a fortune cookie that had come with our Chinese food delivery last weekend. Instead of throwing it away, I cracked it open for a quick snack, and it was the best fortune I’ve ever gotten — even if it’s not technically a fortune. Anyway, it said: “Never give up.”
This is the best fortune cookie a writer, or anyone trying to do succeed at anything, can get, better than, “You will come into a lot of money.” That could be from the lottery, but it won’t get us what we want.
Because what we want requires never giving up. No matter how often we wonder if we’re writing our scene the best way, no matter how often we question our word choice, no matter how often we send out query letters, no matter how often we get rejections, if we want to succeed, we must never give up. This is the same when we’re trying to get an agent, when our agent is trying to sell our book, when we’re trying to market our book after it’s released on shelves, when our agent is selling our next book, and so on. No matter what, we must never give up.
If I was writing that fortune cookie, I would add one thing: “Work hard … and never give up.”
What would your perfect fortune cookie say?
Write On!
