So, my prior post…see below, was all about finding the motivation to keep on writing.

Well, I found the best motivation.  It’s that thing called an email from a literary journal or a magazine…or anyone, really…who says, “yes! we love this! We want everyone to read it.”  I just got a great email with words to that effect (minus the exclamation points, mind you). I had submitted a short story and it was accepted yesterday.

(waiting politely for the applause to stop before I continue) 

If there is something that will push you forward, it’s this: take the rejections in stride, but man…savor those acceptances. They are pure gold motivation for the spirit.

I think, sometimes, that I’m a bit nuts.

I had decided to submit a short story to The First Line and they had a deadline of February 1st.  While I had written the story and only needed to do the very, very last fine-tuning, I still couldn’t help but wonder what it is about writers–such as myself–who put themselves under the gun this way.

It’s almost like being back in college, except that you assign yourself your own work…with the very slim chance that there’ll be any reward (besides the obvious:  WOOT! I wrote a story! ).

I read a profile of a businesswoman yesterday, and the one thing that stood out for me was this: when asked what her secret to success was, she said, “Never, ever, ever give up! Never give up! NEVER!”  It impacted me because a writer really needs a great deal of self-motivation to keep going.  You have to have that “don’t give up” mantra going in your head.  It’s so easy to let it (the writing) fall away, ease up…dwindle to nothing.

So, if you are writer, and you are tired or downtrodden or discouraged or uninspired or struggling–I’ll be your cheerleader today: Never Give Up.