A Brief
Note on the Nature of Writing
Writing is an exploration.
You start from nothing and learn as you go. It’s
like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights,
but you can make the whole trip that way. ~~ E.
L. Doctorow.
Reference available on request.
HOPE
AND ACTION: THE TWO LEGS OF A WRITER'S SUCCESS
Before
there was the North County Times, there was the Escondido
Times Advocate—and an attorney who wrote opinion articles
for it. He wrote for free—hoping to be paid at some point.
When the Advocate merged with the Oceanside Blade Tribune
to become the North County Times he kept on hoping and
writing, still for free.
Writing
stimulated his hope. Hope sustained his writing.
That's
how it works: Hope and action (in this case writing) are the two
legs of success. We move forward toward our goals as each leg
steps out in turn again and again over time.
When
the San Diego Union -Tribune offered to pay the lawyer
for his opinion pieces, he accepted. Then he found it wasn't enough.
He wanted to write novels. So he did, hoping to get them published.
He
wrote three novels, all of them rejected one right after the other
because no one wanted to publish them.
But
he still hoped that some day someone eventually would—and
he continued writing.
He
was told he needed an agent. Hoping that might work, he solicited
22 of them around the country. The result was massive rejection
once again—but only 21 times.
The
last agent agreed to publish one of his books if he would do "some
work" on it first. The lawyer worked for six months hoping
to satisfy his agent's demands—while at the same time fulfilling
his obligations as a partner in Morrison & Foerster LLP, one
of the country's largest law firms. MOFO, as it calls itself,
has offices all across the US and in many countries around the
world. Its partners are exceptionally busy attorneys. So you can
imagine the dedication it took for him to stick to his goal of
getting published.
And
then ...
The
agent found a publisher. The book found a market. So did seven
more of the lawyer's books. Some of them, including Marine
One, made the New York Times Best Seller List.
The
author is San Diego's own James W. Huston [1] and he is still
writing, still hoping—and still succeeding.
Available
Today
Works
by J. Kingston Cowart
-
Monographs -
HYPNOPOESIS
IN PSYCHOTHERAPY:
Waiting
and Watching at the Midspace
Between Image and Reality
SOLUTION-FOCUSED
MANAGEMENT:
Background and Advantages
A HEALING
JOURNEY THROUGH THREE PSALMS:
Spiritual Imagination and Psalms XXII - XXIV
HOW TO
HOLD THEM-—HOW TO MOLD THEM
Mentoring Volunteers for
Retention and Development
- Center
Point -
(Center for Self-Change Newsletter)
Archive
Contact
Us
Publisher:
J. Kingston Cowart
jkcowart@centerpointpublications.com
Managing
Editor: Sally A. Edge
sally.edge@centerpointpublications.com
Center Point Publications
Post Office Box 19005
San Diego, CA 92159
619-561-9012