Writing Fiction is an Act of Faith
'When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? To surrender dreams - this may be madness,' says Cervantes in his wondrous Don Quixote.
Writing fiction is an act of faith. You have to believe that the seed of a story planted in the valley of your mind—if only given a chance to grow—will someday in the near or distant future, bear magical fruits. You must believe that the story you are working on--day in, day out for months, years--will someday connect with people you have never met, and probably never will. Like all acts of faith, this, too, is a journey that ventures beyond the boundaries of the self.
But writing fiction is equally an act of doubt. You will disbelieve and question and challenge yourself at every step along the way. You will be pelted with anxieties and panic attacks that come out of nowhere. It makes no difference whether you are writing your first book or fifth or tenth, you will still watch your soul bleed on the whiteness of the page. You will find yourself doubting not only your characters, but also your own skills. You might even ask why on earth are you doing this, plunking away at a computer keyboard or holding a leaking pen as though your life depended on it--though it won’t stop you, the darkness of your thoughts, you will continue writing, for how can you not continue breathing.
Writing is the waltz of faith and doubt. Both are sorely needed.
And you must dance this waltz, night and day, for as long as it takes.
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