“Patience is also a form of action.” ~Auguste Rodin
There is no getting around it…waiting is hard. Sometimes very hard. Like most aspiring writers, I am in the midst of the query process, seeking representation for my nonfiction project. I have sent queries, received favorable responses, and sent out proposals.
Now I wait. And wait.
It really hasn’t been a long time – a few weeks at most. But each quiet day that passes erodes a little peice of my confidence. I try to fill my time with actions that will move me in a positive direction – I write new stuff, and revise old stuff, I blog, I critique, I get my stuff critiqued… But I can’t get away from the nagging feeling of waiting…or the mind-games that comes with it as well.
Which brings me to my personal lesson in patience.
The dictionary defines patience as “the ability to be steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity; to bear trials calmly without complaint.” Yep, this is definitely a lesson in patience for me.
I tend to take most aspects of my life and turn them into spiritual practices – something that helps me to become a better person. This lesson in waiting and patience – in fact, this entire writing journey – is a good practice for me, as I learn to live in the moment, with deliberate intention. And yes, sometimes is is unbelievably difficult.
I am using this as a chance to exercise the skill of letting go of the things out of my control – like when the agent(s) will respond, whether or not they will like my work, and whether or not my timing is “right”. Instead I focus on the things I can control, including the cultivation of my craft (writing, of course), revising, writing new things, reading good books, and helping others to create their own things. In this, I am learning the art of patience and living with deliberation.
Patience and waiting are hard things to master.
But in this field, as in life, I must take the time to learn this. Getting past this particular hurdle of waiting will invariably lead to more waiting games in the future – and more opportunities to practice a little patience.
What about you guys? Have you mastered the art of patience? Have any great tricks to share?
7 responses so far ↓
susan cooper // July 20, 2009 at 8:28 am |
Unfortunately, I have little more to offer than commiseration, but if it helps at all to know it, your words have struck a resonant chord. Not only that, they arrived at the very moment when they were sorely needed. If nothing else, it helps to know I do not suffer thus alone.
Neither do you.
Hang in there. It will be worth it, in the end
Laura Best // July 20, 2009 at 8:39 am |
Patience is something that every writer needs to learn to accept. Wait times are long. That is just a fact of a writer’s life. The difference between an unpublished writer and a published writer (besides the obvious–talent) is that the published writers don’t give up. Rejection is something to be learned from and being published too quickly is not always a positive thing if you haven’t learned to live with a certain amount of rejection. Because rejection will come sooner or later.
It sounds to me as though you’re doing the right thing by concentration on your writing and letting go of the things that are out of your control. I say keep doing what you’re doing and don’t let those times when you face discouragement keep you down for long..
Lisa // July 20, 2009 at 12:02 pm |
Patience is an art that I probably will never fully master. I just don’t wait well. I do find that I’m much more at peace with waiting if I’m busy working on my next project. It’s hard to start right away (at least it is for me) but after a month or two of reading and refreshing my e-mail I’m usually ready. It just feels really good to be working on something completely different so if our project on sub doesn’t get picked up, we’ll have something else that’s ready to go out sooner rather than later. I’m big on plan B’s.
Kate Karyus Quinn // July 20, 2009 at 1:10 pm |
No matter how much I practice, I don’t think patience is something that will ever come easily to me. Maybe in this age of drive-thru windows and DVR’s it’s just too much of a lost art?
A New Look…AGAIN « The Musings of Christine Fonseca // July 20, 2009 at 4:15 pm |
[...] Writer Resources ← The Art of Patience. [...]
Christine Fonseca // July 20, 2009 at 4:32 pm |
Thanks for all the well wishes. It looks like most of us struggle with patience!!!
ElanaJ // July 20, 2009 at 5:14 pm |
I so feel you. I’m the most impatient person ever, but I’ve been working on it. I’ve been reading some things that have helped me realize why patience is so hard. They’ve helped me see things in the bigger picture. So hang in there!