The Secret to Writing Success by Rochelle Melander

“…I had formed the habit of working in my studio almost every single day. Rain or shine, eager or dragging my feet, I just plain forced myself to work.” —Anne Truitt (Daybook, p. 126)

When I was in second grade, I read Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. The novel taught me to think beyond what teachers, parents and ministers said was real. Because of A Wrinkle in Time, I embraced my imagination as a gift instead of the thing that made me odd and often got me in trouble with grown-ups.

I met L’Engle several times during her lifetime. At the first event, she said something that still helps me write every day:

“Success is thin unless we can be committed to drudgery.”

Wow. The woman responsible for the book that opened my mind also had to slog through the boring parts.

Being a writer is about showing up and writing, whether we feel like it or not. We scribble down the words before they disappear from our heads. Then we change them. Sometimes we get lucky, and while we’re wading through the muck, inspiration hits and sets our imagination on fire.

Both the artist Anne Truitt and the author Madeleine L’Engle found the secret to success: work hard. For them, making art was a habit. They created daily, no matter what.

My advice? Go and do likewise!