From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 09:55:33 -0500

No idea if this will be helpful/useful but I often told writers the pleasure must be "in the doing," and not the reception which cannot be pre-determined or controlled by the writer or the publisher. And too, artistic growth can be like other kinds of growth...one step forward, one step back, two steps sideways, a leap forward, etc. If a writer is single minded/rooted in the work, one is able/willing to take greater risks...if one's first consideration is the market...artistic risks will undoubtedly not be taken. Is this easy...no, but in my judgement, it is the only way to go. Should a work fail, the writer may be hurt, disappointed, discouraged, etc., but the pleasure in creating the work remains...a saving grace, I think. It takes courage to be a writer, a courage that comes from having something important
" to say," and doing the best one can do at a particular time. Norma Jean
Received on Mon 17 Oct 2005 09:55:33 AM CDT