Learning a Lesson from Andy Murray
I don't always bother watching the tennis from Wimbledon, but this year I decided to follow the progress of my fellow Scot, Andy Murray, the British number one tennis player. This evening he was playing in the fourth round against the Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. I should have been at salsa, but I watched the start of the match and it turned out to be so fascinating, I never set foot out of the house.
Andy Murray pulled off the most spectacular turn-around. He'd lost the first two sets, 5-7, 3-6 and when the third set got to 6-6, it looked as if he was just about to lose the third set (and the match). But he suddenly found his fighting spirit and wouldn't give up. Time and time again it went to deuce, advantage Gasquet, but he carried on pulling it back to deuce, staying in the match by sheer willpower. The crowd went absolutely mad and really got behind him.
Against all odds, he did it - he managed to win the third set on a tie-breaker, then it was a matter of whether he would manage to win the fourth set and have a chance of staying in the match. If I say he won the final two sets, 6-2, 6-4, it makes it sound too easy and gives no indication of the number of times things were going against him - lots more battles around deuce. His determination really won over the British people and made him the new-found darling of the crowds.
Bounce-back-ability - the Key to Success on and off the Court
So what has all this to do with writing? Quite a lot. The bounce-back-ability that Andy Murray showed he had tonight is one of the most important character traits a writer can develop.
Our path to success may be slower and less dramatic, but like him, we will probably experience a great deal of frustration and thwarted hopes along the way. Like him, we will need every ounce of determination, every ounce of resilience to keep on going when the going gets tough.
Tennis players have their duff shots, poor decisions, and badly judged decisions. They lose points, lose matches, fail to reach the finals, fail to win the trophy.
Writers produce poor work from time to time, find that people hate a piece of writing that they were really proud of, find rejection letters on the doormat instead of nice big cheques. We jump over hoops to second guess editors, meet the demands of editors or agents, nearly get that piece of work commissioned then find that the contract falls through at the last minute.
In short, we face a lot of the same pressures and disappointments that tennis players do, only we don't usually have thousands of people cheering us on. The tennis player may get that 'me alone against the world' feeling when he's out on the court and the match seems to be slipping away from him. It can be a pretty lonely business being a writer too and you've got no crowd behind you cheering you on - you don't even get the consolation of room-service!
Just as the top tennis player has to dig deep to find the strength of character, the mental, emotional and physical reserves that will carry him to victory, so we writers also have to dig deep to find a way to bounce back from setbacks and rejections and keep on till we get the result we want - and then we have start it all over again another time with our next project.
If you're dissatisfied with a piece of work or you're feeling battered and bruised after you've had a rejection, just think of Andy Murray and how he kept on slogging away until his luck changed, until he proved that it aint over till it's over.
Develop that winning mentality and you'll soon be enjoying a winning streak of your own.
Showing posts with label coping with rejections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coping with rejections. Show all posts
Monday, 30 June 2008
Sunday, 8 June 2008
What Makes a Good Writer?
Different Tastes in Writing
As anyone who has ever entered a writing competition will know, whether or not you like someone's writing is intensely personal. A lot of it depends on the temperament of the reader.
For example, someone who is a go-getting daredevil will probably prefer action stories, adventures, something fast-paced that will keep them turning the pages. They're probably not going to be a big fan of Joanna Trollope's aga-sagas.
Having seen The Apprentice, I don't imagine that Sir Alan Sugar buys many Barbara Cartland romances, but you never know!
I myself love crime books, but I wouldn't dream of reading Agatha Christie's cosy crime novels. The whole point of these whodunnits is to try to work out who did it - but to me, the enjoyment of a crime novel lies in its realism, atmosphere, setting, characters, and often the inner turmoils and troubled personal lives of the detectives, as well.
Lots of people adore Tolkien, but I have had three attempts at trying to read The Hobbit in my life and never made it past the first quarter. I wouldn't even attempt to read The Lord of the Rings, but I enjoyed the films.
And there are some books that I have had to give up on, like Vanity Fair. I tried reading it when I was young, but I couldn't get into it. I felt I ought to read it because it was a classic, but I just didn't like it. Maybe I was just too young when I tried it.
I think what you enjoy reading will also depend on what sort of mood you are in and how tired you are. You might hate a book one day, but enjoy it a couple of months later when you are feeling a bit fresher.
The Characteristics of a Successful Writer
So it's just about impossible to come up with an ideal book that will please everybody. What sort of talents should a writer have, though, if they are to make it as a writer?
Being able to tell a rattling good story is an obvious one. This is an area in which Catherine Cookson, former queen of the library listings, excelled. She was a born story teller. I do think that some people are more natural story tellers than others.
Being good with words is another obvious trait. Some people love words and have a feel for language. But there is quite a lot you can do to develop this side of your writing. Reading extensively and studying poetry will definitely help a writer to improve as a wordsmith.
Originality is a controversial one. Obviously, it's boring to read a book which is too predictable, a clone of loads of other books. Unfortunately it's all too easy for writers to jump on the bandwagon too, hence the plethora of Da Vinci Files look-alikes these days.
On the other hand, readers often like to know where they are with a book, so it can be unsettling if a writer departs too far from the conventions of the genre. And books that are startlingly original may be clever and admirable, but they won't always hit the best-seller lists.
No, it would be quite hard to come up with a painting-by-numbers identikit picture of the ideal writer. What's more, the qualities that a good writer really needs to succeed aren't ones that will necessarily show up in the pages of their books. But they are ones they will need if they are to get their book published in the first place.
A Successful Writer's Unseen Qualities
The unseen qualities are the strengths of character which enable writers to risk trying to write and to persevere till they get published, in spite of setbacks and rejections. The ability to receive crushing rejection letters, yet pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again. The tenacity to keep plugging away, writing and submitting books or stories, possibly for years, before they have any tangible success, any money to show for it.
The sheer bloody-mindedness to believe that they have something worth saying and to keep on saying it, even though nobody seems in the slightest bit interested. That, and a very, very thick skin!
It's ironic that many writers are sensitive souls who take rejection hard. It's that sensitivity which often goes hand in hand with a vivid imagination, that sensitivity which makes them fascinated by people, but also that sensitivity which can make life so hard for them when things aren't going well.
So if you want to be a good, successful writer, you'll need to be a good storyteller with a feel for words, the ability of Zebedee to bounce back, and the hide of a rhinoceros.
Oh, and there's one more factor which can determine whether or not a writer is successful, whether or not they are good at what they do - luck! Being in the right place at the right time, producing a certain sort of book just when it is coming into fashion. Meeting an editor who you click with, who loves your work, even though twenty others hated it.
Yes, luck can play a part. Though as someone once said, 'It's funny. The harder I work, the luckier I get.'
Work hard on your writing! But I wish you luck as well. Just in case!
As anyone who has ever entered a writing competition will know, whether or not you like someone's writing is intensely personal. A lot of it depends on the temperament of the reader.
For example, someone who is a go-getting daredevil will probably prefer action stories, adventures, something fast-paced that will keep them turning the pages. They're probably not going to be a big fan of Joanna Trollope's aga-sagas.
Having seen The Apprentice, I don't imagine that Sir Alan Sugar buys many Barbara Cartland romances, but you never know!
I myself love crime books, but I wouldn't dream of reading Agatha Christie's cosy crime novels. The whole point of these whodunnits is to try to work out who did it - but to me, the enjoyment of a crime novel lies in its realism, atmosphere, setting, characters, and often the inner turmoils and troubled personal lives of the detectives, as well.
Lots of people adore Tolkien, but I have had three attempts at trying to read The Hobbit in my life and never made it past the first quarter. I wouldn't even attempt to read The Lord of the Rings, but I enjoyed the films.
And there are some books that I have had to give up on, like Vanity Fair. I tried reading it when I was young, but I couldn't get into it. I felt I ought to read it because it was a classic, but I just didn't like it. Maybe I was just too young when I tried it.
I think what you enjoy reading will also depend on what sort of mood you are in and how tired you are. You might hate a book one day, but enjoy it a couple of months later when you are feeling a bit fresher.
The Characteristics of a Successful Writer
So it's just about impossible to come up with an ideal book that will please everybody. What sort of talents should a writer have, though, if they are to make it as a writer?
Being able to tell a rattling good story is an obvious one. This is an area in which Catherine Cookson, former queen of the library listings, excelled. She was a born story teller. I do think that some people are more natural story tellers than others.
Being good with words is another obvious trait. Some people love words and have a feel for language. But there is quite a lot you can do to develop this side of your writing. Reading extensively and studying poetry will definitely help a writer to improve as a wordsmith.
Originality is a controversial one. Obviously, it's boring to read a book which is too predictable, a clone of loads of other books. Unfortunately it's all too easy for writers to jump on the bandwagon too, hence the plethora of Da Vinci Files look-alikes these days.
On the other hand, readers often like to know where they are with a book, so it can be unsettling if a writer departs too far from the conventions of the genre. And books that are startlingly original may be clever and admirable, but they won't always hit the best-seller lists.
No, it would be quite hard to come up with a painting-by-numbers identikit picture of the ideal writer. What's more, the qualities that a good writer really needs to succeed aren't ones that will necessarily show up in the pages of their books. But they are ones they will need if they are to get their book published in the first place.
A Successful Writer's Unseen Qualities
The unseen qualities are the strengths of character which enable writers to risk trying to write and to persevere till they get published, in spite of setbacks and rejections. The ability to receive crushing rejection letters, yet pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again. The tenacity to keep plugging away, writing and submitting books or stories, possibly for years, before they have any tangible success, any money to show for it.
The sheer bloody-mindedness to believe that they have something worth saying and to keep on saying it, even though nobody seems in the slightest bit interested. That, and a very, very thick skin!
It's ironic that many writers are sensitive souls who take rejection hard. It's that sensitivity which often goes hand in hand with a vivid imagination, that sensitivity which makes them fascinated by people, but also that sensitivity which can make life so hard for them when things aren't going well.
So if you want to be a good, successful writer, you'll need to be a good storyteller with a feel for words, the ability of Zebedee to bounce back, and the hide of a rhinoceros.
Oh, and there's one more factor which can determine whether or not a writer is successful, whether or not they are good at what they do - luck! Being in the right place at the right time, producing a certain sort of book just when it is coming into fashion. Meeting an editor who you click with, who loves your work, even though twenty others hated it.
Yes, luck can play a part. Though as someone once said, 'It's funny. The harder I work, the luckier I get.'
Work hard on your writing! But I wish you luck as well. Just in case!
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