Earning It

There are a few things that I suppose are rites of passage. Badges of honor. Life experiences that place people in a position of wisdom. When my oldest daughter asks me questions about my opinions on matters like abortion, gay rights, the existence of God, the death penalty, gun control, immigration, she knows she's going to be subject to what I think is my accumulated wisdom. I've earned, I think, my opinions.

So it goes with writing, I think. A friend of mine recently asked a question about someone who, shall I say, spouts off some pretty confrontational opinions on just about anything and everything having to do with writing. My friend asked, "But can he even write?"

A point to ponder on blogs that get nasty out there (had the unfortunate experience of stumbling on one yesterday).

And it also bears thinking about when it comes to writing a novel. I know a lot of people with really great ideas. But you have got to finish one all the way through to earn that wisdom about what it's like to be in the "sucky middle section" and write your way out of it.

You have to wrack up a few rejections. Pitch when you're nervous. Take a meeting when you have a horrible cold and aren't on the top of your game.

In short, writing is definitely a solitary business . . . it's sitting your ass in the chair and starting at the beginning and then writing through to the end. But there are some aspects of it that have no shortcuts. That you have to earn. You can fear it . . . but have to go through it anyway.

We earn our writing stripes. So my wish for the year is we all gain some collective wisdom. We fear something and do it anyway. Thoughts?