Monday 28 September 2009

Better to travel than to arrive?

Several Macmillan New Writers - myself included - have had disappointing news this year in that our second or third novels have been rejected for publication. Most of us will have spent at least a year on each of these novels; a year of writing, of thinking, of planning, of ups and downs, and of hope. But thinking back over my own year, I have to conlude that it's the journey that really counts, not the arriving. Yes, it's wonderful to be accepted and published; great to hold in my hand the first copy of a new novel; fun to attend a book launch and book signings, and to see my book in a shop window. The money's nice, too. But nothing quite compares with the exhilaration I feel when a piece of writing is going well; when the story take over, and flows as though coming from a source of its own; the moment when another (brilliant, of course) idea strikes, and I can't wait to get it down on paper. So, yes. It's deeply disappointing to be rejected and to have to put the novel and all its well-loved characters away in their virtual drawer, and turn to something else. But regrets? None. A waste of time? Absolutely not. Speaking for myself, it was worth every minute. And that, presumably, is why we keep on writing.

4 comments:

  1. Digging the positive vibes, Frances.

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  2. Yep, nohing beats the writing process when it's flowing.

    On the other hand, when it's NOT flowing...well, let's not get into that.

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  3. Thanks, Aliya. Thanks David. Got to be positive in this game, haven't we, otherwise...what? I guess we're probably all mad. But hey! What's wrong with mad?

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  4. Great post Frances, I couldn't agree more!

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