Monday, February 14, 2011

The Writer's Creed

I am a writer, and because I am a writer, I will stick my butt in front of that computer, and I will write. I will spend more time writing than I spend blogging, surfing the Internet, and picking my nose combined. I am a writer, and I will write my manuscript.

I will read. I will read so many books my friends will stop asking librarians and independent bookstore owners what books they should read and start asking me. I will read so many books that if Ken Jennings ever challenged me to a duel on Jeopardy, I would totally own him in the “YA Literature” category.

I will revise, revise, revise. I will keep revising until I actually start to like it. Then I’ll revise a little more.

I will write an awesome query. I will not whine about how hard it is or use it as an excuse to not submit my work. I will become the best possible marketer for my manuscript.

I will query my book. I will research, research, research until I can list every agent who represents my genre in alphabetical order forward and backward. Then I’ll research a little more. And on those days I don’t want to query anyone, don’t want to take the risk, I will force myself to send that e-mail, and on those days I want to query every agent in the universe, I will force myself to wait. I will find the best possible advocate for my book. I will.

I will rise above rejection. I may cry a little and even throw my keyboard across the room, but I will not let it defeat me. I will send another query. I will write another book.

I will not compare myself to others. I. Will. Not. Compare. My journey is my journey, and I take ownership of that. When others succeed, I will rejoice with them, and when others fail, I will mourn. Even though we are competing for the same agents’ attention, for the same few spots on our favorite houses’ lists, I will not see them as competitors. I will see them as fellow writers. I will see them as friends.

I am a writer, but I am also a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter. I will let writing define one small part of my life, but I will not let it define the rest. Because if all I ever did was write, I would have nothing to write about.

I will live my life, and I will write my words, and they will make each other beautiful.

37 comments:

Janet Johnson said...

Beautiful words! Perfect. Especially that comparing part. :) Time to print and post this above my computer!

Bkloss said...

Well said! I needed this today. Thanks for the encouragement. As a writer, it's hard not to feel alone with your struggles. Reading things like this by inspiring people like yourself, helps me remember that I'm not! Keep it up. :)

Caryn Caldwell said...

Yes! That's exactly right! Thanks for posting this. I needed to read it, and I bet many others do, too.

Jenilyn Collings said...

Beautifully put! Thanks!

Holly Hill said...

This is really awesome. Must tweet and share. :)

Jenna Wallace said...

Hear hear! One of the best and most complete creeds I've ever read.

Ben Spendlove said...

Love it!

Just (re)wrote the last chapter this morning. My wife read it and said "I think it's okay."

*sigh*

Revise, revise, revise.

Marybk said...

Love this.

Jessica Ann Hill said...

This is such a wonderful post, and you said it beautifully.

Love it!

Carol Riggs said...

GREAT post, very good sentiments. :) Especially the part about spending more time writing than blogging. What? I'm blogging right now? Oops. LOL

Happy Valentine's Day!

Shallee said...

I. Love. This. Post. This is what it means to be a writer!

Erin Edwards said...

Well said!

Michael G-G said...

What a manifesto. Thank you.

I plan to link to this post on my blog. http://theyearofwritingdangerously.blogspot.com/

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

Beautiful, Krista. These are all the things that I work on (or want to be better at.) Thanks for the post!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Thank you, everyone, for your enthusiasm, for your kind remarks, and for your support. Thank you for the links and tweets. I usually try to respond to every commenter individually, but I fell a little behind today, so suffice it to say I think you all are wonderful.

Myrna Foster said...

I think I'll print this out and read it when I'm having a "meh" day. I especially love the way you ended it. Write on, my friend!

Connie Keller said...

Amen. Amen. And amen.

A.J. Cattapan said...

Connie stole my line! :)

Amen, Sister!

If you're looking for another great writer's creed on those days when you feel you stink at it, check out Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way. Great stuff for people feeling creatively blocked.

Anonymous said...

I will simply say ditto to all the posts here. This is perfect...NO revisions needed. thank you.

Shari said...

This just might be my favorite post that I've ever read. Everything about it is beautiful and inspiring ... beyond that. I'm printing this out and keeping it in my desk for whenever I need these reminders :)

Thank you for this ... more than you know.

Judy S said...

AWESOME post - one that every writer should read, and reread and reread again.

Not only was it extremely encouraging, but at the same time it let us know that at the end of the day, whether things are going good or bad, there are some things that are more important than writing. Hard to believe, but it's true.

A.L. Sonnichsen said...

Totally awesome, Krista. Totally.

Amy

Jenn said...

Beautifully said!

I especially love the "my journey is my own" bit. :)

Thanks so much for posting!

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Again, thank you for the awesome comments, everyone. It was cathartic to write, and I'm glad you found it cathartic to read.

Cambria Dillon said...

LOVE. THIS. And I think every writer should print it out and tape it to their monitor. A little reminding never hurts.
Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

We should pray this every night!! :D

Anonymous said...

Well said! And with every rejection I receive I remind myself, writing is not all I am, not all I do. Though it makes me crazy happy, it does not and will never define me. What defines me is my determination, my drive, in all areas of my life.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Thank you, Cambria. And congratulations on landing an agent! That's fantastic!

I'd be okay if you just set it to music and sang it instead, Monica;)

Exactly, Jennie Lynn. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Chantele Sedgwick said...

What a beautiful post Krista. I love it.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Thanks, Chantele!

Stephanie@thecrackedslipper said...

Lovely post, Krista. Not much else to say-- you said it all!

Esther Vanderlaan said...

I LOVE this creed!!!!!! I absolutely love it! It really does sum up what a writer should do. :)

Lorena said...

Well said, Krista! I love it.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Thank you for the kind words, Stephanie, Esther, and Lorena.

Kelly Bryson said...

Amazing post Krista- sorry for being so late to the party.
You:I will sit my butt in my chair and write.
Me:Yes, I think I will, too.
Happy Writing!

Hermana Maw said...

Here here! Awesome creed! Can I just sign it somewhere like the Declaration Of Independence? Because I want me some of that.

Krista Van Dolzer said...

Kelly and LeishaMaw, thank you so much for your comments. I'm glad you liked the post, because I sure liked writing it. It was...liberating:)