"Don't be afraid. That simple; don't let them scare you. There's nothing they can do to you . . . a writer always writes. That's what he's for. And if they won't let you write one kind of thing, if they chop you off at the pockets in the market place, then go to another market place. And if they close off all the bazaars then by God go and work with your hands till you can write, because the talent is always there. But the first time you say, "Oh, Christ, they'll kill me!" then you're done. Because the chief commodity a writer has to sell is his courage. And if he has none, he is more than a coward. He is a sellout and a fink and a heretic, because writing is a holy chore."
-- Harlan Ellison, from his anthology Dangerous Visions
I don't always agree with Ellison. There are times he's quite objectionable both in
public and in private (I've seen him at BayCon's past). There are, however, times when he's fucking eloquent about writing and about standing up for your work in the marketplace. He's also a brilliant writer.
A few months ago a friend likened writing to giving birth. "You start in and you might not want to finish, once it starts but you don't have a choice. You have to keep going until it's done."
I also tend to believe that there will be reminders of the things you need when you're ready for them. How do I know this? The unconscious, yet. inescapable theme for the week has been 'you can't learn something well unless you practice'. This is just as accurate for writing as it is for everything else. I haven't been practicing like I should. It's my hope to change that. Hence, cleaning up the old entries and starting fresh.
Also, there have been reminders that not all sci fi/fantasy writers have been publishing since their 'tweens. That some didn't make it big until their forties. Some didn't even start until their forties.
It's not to late for me.
