text: Writing: Journey or Destination

I was asked once whether I would write if I knew my work would never get published.  I didn’t hesitate when I answered yes.  But it was interesting to ponder the question of a craft that does not come with any guarantees.  Is writing without a book deal as futile as Sisyphus and his eternal boulder pushing, or is writing something that some of us are compelled to do no matter the outcome?

For me, I felt compelled.  When I first started writing and received more rejections than I cared to admit, I lifted my battered dreams from the dirt and dragged them kicking and screaming into the next project.  The next big idea.  I needed to tell a story, even if my mother was the only person in the world who would appreciate it. 

Along the way, I learned many things about others and even more about myself.  Writing became my teacher.  It gave me a humanity that I might never have discovered if it hadn’t been for the writing experience.  Through my characters, I learned how to step into the hearts and minds of others and neutralize my judgment.  I ascribed motivation to their actions and understood why they did what they did.  I no longer thought in terms of black and white, but instead resided comfortably in the grays. 

The reward of writing is the experience itself.

So even if you have been writing without any “success,” and you feel like Sisyphus, with a bad back, pushing that boulder endlessly up the mountain, don’t give up. 

The journey is the dream.