"Many people assume they are bad at writing because it is hard. This is like assuming you are bad at weightlifting because the weight is heavy. Writing is useful because it is hard. It's the effort that goes into writing a clear sentence that leads to better thinking." ~ James Clear, author Atomic Habits
"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all." ~ Sam Ewing, author The Cat Who Loved Christmas
E is for Effort
The writers at Inscribe
agree: writing is hard work and effort can trump talent.
There is hope and reality in that axiom. For those who aren’t afraid of hard work it means that one talent people don’t have to be limited or inferior to the multi-talented. And for those who are multi-talented it is a caution sign that no amount of talent can supersede effort. Natural ability won’t automatically generate success.
In writing, professional sports, entrepreneurial business, politics, or any endeavour, hard work will always beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Just Do It
My boss reminds our team that not every endeavour will result in success but at least make it look like you tried.
Success is never an accident. It takes effort, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. Unless your experience is unique, sustained efforts most often lead to success. Efforts like editing.
Writers know edits are worth the effort. Dr Seuss got it right and said it well, “The writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”
Nancy Kress, a science fiction writer, explores the gravity of effort:
Write.
Just do it.
Then again.
Then some more.
And more.
Do not wait for inspiration.
If you do enough of it often enough, inspiration will eventually come.
Most of us love Cinderella stories about writers who turned into overnight sensations. We love the idea of selling a lot of books without working too hard, but we fail to acknowledge that overnight successes usually don’t happen overnight.
Success takes significant effort.
What does “just do it” mean to you? Please make the effort to leave a comment after you read the following quotes.
10 Quotes Worth The Effort to Read
1. “At the end of the day, you can't control the results; you can only control your effort level and your focus.” ~ Ben Zobrist, former MLB Player, 2-time World Champion with the Chicago Cubs and KC Royals
2. “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.” ~ Anon
3. “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” ~ Jane Yolen, author of over 400 books for children and adults
4. “Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” ~ Winston Churchill, author of 43 books including Savrola
5. “If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.” ~ Charles Bukowski, authored 40 works of poetry, prose, and novels
6. “Great is the art of beginning but greater the art is of ending.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, author, poet (I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day)
7. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” ~ Anne Lamott (no bio needed)
8. “A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.” ~ Elbert Hubbard, author of A Message to Garcia (1899)
9. “Writing is not a matter of inspiration except for your initial idea. Writing is a matter of sitting down and doing it. And you have to do a lot of it to get publishable. If you want to write, you write. Talent is simply not enough.” ~ Nancy Kress, science fiction writer
10. “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” ~ Pearl S. Buck, Pulitzer Prize winner for The Good Earth
Bob Jones writes
to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and
discover their life purpose.
Follow his writing at REVwords.com
What a wealth of wisdom you've given us, Bob! You summed up your post well with: "no amount of talent can supersede effort." You've reminded me of the Scriptures that promote the same concept: " Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10) and, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Colossians 3:23).
ReplyDeleteI make the effort daily to amplify my one writing talent. Thank you, Sandi for leaning in.
DeleteWhen I read the words, ‘just do it,’ I am taken back to the days of ParticipACTION and the little ditty they sang with the ads - “Don’t just think about it , do it, do it, do it.” Just thinking about writing won’t get the words down on paper, you have to do the work. I recently read Stephen King’s Memoir about writing. Though I don’t care for the genre he writes he does know his stuff. So here’s one of his quotations:
ReplyDelete“ "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."
Thanks for a thought provoking post, Bob.
Love that quote, Sharon! Thank you.
DeleteLoved your post, Bob. Thank you for all the inspiration. What grabbed me right off was Sam Ewing's quote in your leadoff: "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all." Over the years I have been giving it my best Effort to become one of those people who consistently turn up their sleeves. And, with resolve and courage, stay the course... in my life and all that He has called me to do, including my writing. I'm a lover of quotations, so I'll revisit your great list shared here and probably write a few down for myself. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteBrenda, you are a "just-do-it" kind of person and writer! Thank you for leaning in.
DeleteYes to EFFORT! Thank you all these inspirational quotes!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Tracy. Thank you for making the effort to comment. :)
DeleteMany years ago, after I'd read The Good Earth, I read a biography on Pearl S. Buck and was astonished to learn that her Pulitzer Prize winning book went from her head through her fingers to the page with little to no editing required afterwards. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the inspiration, several of these quotes are now in my quote book.
Isn't that amazing about Pearl, Joy? One of a kind. Thank you for reading and commenting.
DeleteYou've given us plenty to chew on here, Bob. Sam Ewing's quote about hard work resonates with me. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lorrie for the effort to point out Sam's quote in your comment.
DeleteThank you for this rich with wisdom post, Bob.
ReplyDeleteI agree that: "In writing, professional sports, entrepreneurial business, politics, or any endeavour, hard work will always beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard."
To me "just do it" means we keep showing up and keep doing our best one page at a time.
Thank you also for the wonderful writing quotes.
Blessings.
Thank you, Wendy. You make the effort to keep the blogsite populated with valuable writing. You combine effort and talents!
ReplyDelete