Monday, February 1, 2010

FIRE and WRITING

"Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."  -Reggie Leach 

A lot of people say to find success with your writing, you have to keep writing. That's important, but  the more important thing is to find the fire behind your writing. What makes you write? Why do you keep at it? Why don't you stop?

I think the passion the writer has for writing is the difference between writing a fiction "journal" and writing a fabulous book. I think Jack London sums it up here:

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark burn out in a brilliant blaze than it be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom in me a magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet."

Without that spark, without a hunger to fly through the heavens ablaze, all of us are just people who write for fun. That spark is what makes us authors.

9 comments:

Aubrie said...

That's great quote! Right now I'm reading "The Fire in Fiction" by Donald Maass. He talks a lot about making your story come alive and how to add fire to it!

Katie Ganshert said...

Excellent quotes and so true! There is something to be said about passion. It's sort of like voice. That elusive, mysterious component that makes everything shine if its there.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

This is my favorite Bethany post yet (well, except maybe for the milk one! ha ha)! :-)

Patti said...

I read once that if you don't love writing you should give it up, so motivation is key. Becasue writing can be hard at times.

Great post.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Well said! There must be a spark--a love like no other, though as all consuming as the greatest of loves.

jdsanc said...

Those are excellent quotes. It is an over-riding passion. I really tried to not write for a long time. I somehow thought it was better to have a promise of a book than a book that wasn't at all promising. But then I found I couldn't not write it. And for a while it stunk. Big time. Thankfully I was on fire by then!!

Unknown said...

Very inspiring! Thank you for sharing!

Anissa said...

Great quote! Excellent post.

BK Mattingly said...

thanks for the comments everyone!