I’m a real writer (said in Pinocchio’s voice)

“Being a real writer means being able to do the work on a bad day.” Norman Mailer

I wrote to this a bit with King’s quote as well, but to me, this is just the heart of it. No matter what noun you put in place of “writer.” This is the truth. Think about it.

You’re a parent.

You’re in a relationship.

You are working out. Etc.

You’re having a bad day. Do you stop being a parent? No. You still take care of your kids. Do you walk away from your relationship because of a bad day? Hope not. Good relationships are hard to find. Do you quit working out because you are having a bad day? If you are like most people I know, you still hit the gym.

Same with being a writer. You work through the bad days, which make you grateful for the good days.

If something is important to you, you stick with it through the bad days, knowing they can’t last forever. If you can walk away because of one bad day, it never meant much to you anyway. I get the feeling I am still talking about more than writing here…as usual.

Bad days don’t last forever and if everything was always sunshine and smooth sailing, how would you ever know you were actually strong enough to weather the inevitable storm?