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It's called patience. Without patience-we get nowhere. Sounds like an oxymoron, but think about it.
First of all, it takes patience to discover what we really want to write. We begin with what Henry James called the "germ" of a full-length work. A single image, a character, a situation, a location can spark and fire the creative impulse. Then patience is required for initial inspiration to grow and flower. Both our conscious and sub-conscious mind must "play" with the idea.
There's the endurance required to park the butt before the computer screen and create a first draft. Who knows-generating a first draft may take months. Invariably, we encounter problems. Patience is the path to an appropriate solution.
Then we set that draft aside for a time-put some distance between the initial burst of passion hot writing and our ability to confront the work with fresh eyes. Be patient.
Revision can seem endless. But you push on, through drafts two, three, four or more. Self-doubt seeps in. Such solitary work.
Then comes the time requiring the most patience of all-trying to find a home for this fledgling child by marketing your product. Will it ever sell? More self-doubt.
While waiting patiently-best to start the whole cycle over again and write the next one.
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