Advice for (Young Women) Writers
This is one of my favorite quotes, from an interview on Book Sense with Lee Smith. I printed it out, and it has occupied a prominent place on my desk ever since. She is responding to a question about young women writers, but I think her advice works for everyone.
My advice for young women writers is just do it. Don’t wait for some ideal point in your life when you will finally have “time to write.” No sane person ever has time to write. Don’t clean the bathroom, don’t paint the hall. Write. Claim your time. And remember that a writer is a person who is writing, not a person who is publishing. If you are serious about it, you will realize early on that (particularly if you expect to have children) you can’t take on a high-power career in addition to writing. You probably can’t be a surgeon, and have children, and “write on the side.” (On the other hand, you could marry a surgeon, thereby solving the whole problem.)
February 24th, 2005 at 7:25 pm
hahaha! thank you for putting this on your blog. as a writer who’s also trying to make it in the “real world,” i’m often faced with the question of what to put first. quotes like this put things in a little perspective…when i’m 70, what will matter more: that i worked with Annie Leibovitz or that i’ve written wonderful words that have brought moments of joy to my life?
February 28th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
great quote.