Words to write by... #3

Here's another one I've had hanging in my writing office for a very long time:

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.—F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm still bemused that this quote came from a writer, not a general. But goodness knows, persistence in the face of adversity is absolutely necessary in the world of writing. If you give up after the first few rejections, for instance, you'll never find the agent/publisher who wants your work. If you give up and crawl away after a scathing critique, you won't learn to "soldier through," revise (if necessary) or ignore (if not), and keep moving forward.

I need this sort of self-talk more often than not, because sometimes it feels like a major victory just getting up in the morning and placing one foot in front of the other...