7 writers who didn't rush success (plus ?)

I’m listening to whale music as I write this. I just did an interview on live radio that made me feel jittery, and my friend Jorge told me that whale sounds would remind me to breathe slowly. He was right.

Blame it on the whales, but tonight I noticed something special about our Sarah Selecky Writing School alumni. They aren’t rushing it. And I believe this is the key to their success.

We writers are in it for the long game. Our understanding of story, craft, and tone grows with practice, over years of setting deadlines and keeping promises to ourselves, years of sending story submissions and receiving rejections.

And then… something works! The thing you’re working on is accomplished, finished, published.

None of these success stories happened all at once. There are so many years of practice and determination in this list. Well done, writers! You’ve managed to cultivate patience and generosity while following your curiosity… and I’m so pleased to see it paying off.

As an SSWS writer, you are in very good company — whether you’re at the very start of a project, or ten years in. You’re in the right place. 

Ours isn’t a vocation that likes to be rushed. If it feels like it’s taking you a long time to write your book, that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Have fun and keep going.

Congratulations to Maureen on her masters program, Annie on finding a home for a piece of writing that started in the Story Intensive, Hajera for her first fiction publication, Frances on the publication of her novella, Amanda on completing her MFA, Suzannah on receiving a grant and publishing a new story, and Nancy on her first publication in a journal!

Read the full list of awesome announcements here.

Love,