tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998835043850194033.post5823500623891985612..comments2024-03-01T21:22:51.305-08:00Comments on The Literary Mercenary: There Is No Wrong Way To WriteNeal Litherlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307649737269196558noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1998835043850194033.post-29898895284777131822017-07-11T21:40:32.209-07:002017-07-11T21:40:32.209-07:00Degas’ statement is accurate because, once people ...Degas’ statement is accurate because, once people decide to turn their passions into professions, they realize – sometimes painfully and unexpectedly – that hard work is needed to accomplish that. When you replace the “S” in “serious” with a dollar sign, there’s no other way around it. You have to work at it.<br /><br />Alex Haley’s first wife supposedly left him after he became enthralled with a new writing project and forgot to buy his kids a Christmas tree. When Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain” was turned into a movie in 2005, she complained that all the interviews her publisher wanted her to give were cutting into her writing time. When I got my first p.c. in 2000, a close friend asked if it made my writing easier. I told him it made the mechanics of writing easier. I mean, who doesn’t love MS Word’s autocorrect function?! But the actual writing – sitting down and putting words together to form a coherent story – was still tough. Another close friend kept bemoaning the lack of progress with a photo book he was trying to complete. I finally told him, “Well…it won’t write itself.” He finished it shortly afterwards.<br /><br />As with acting and singing, too many would-be professional writers only see those dollar signs at the end of the road and forget they need to lay down the asphalt first. That demands an actual plan of action and plenty of personal sacrifices. And maybe boat loads of coffee or Red Bull!Alejandro De La Garzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12281206714689138318noreply@blogger.com