Monday, January 4, 2010

Monday Morning Quote: Stephanie Elizondo Griest on Miracles

I used to think authors could make their books best-sellers through willpower alone. But we can't. What we need is a miracle.

And that's fantastic. Because miracles happen. Like my Princeton fellowship. That one application, assembled the night before the deadline, bought a whole year of time to think and create. If I've learned anything in this business, it's that the more you fling yourself out there and chase those dreams and miracles, the higher your likelihood of catching one. [Lesson No. 7: Miracles happen, especially if you pursue them.]

—Stephanie Elizondo Griest, "Confessions of an Author Nomad" in Poets & Writers
The monday morning quote returns after a brief hiatus for a family emergency and I'm going to start the new year with a quote I find to be both inspiring and true--and with a plug for Poets & Writers.

In the first serious writing class I took, in the fall of 2001, our wonderful instructor Jane Brox spent a few minutes of our final class giving us some parting advice on becoming a writer, and one of her recommendations was Poets & Writers. I've had a subscription ever since, and I look forward every other month to an issue packed with interviews, advice, and deadlines. This week's quote comes from the section called "The Practical Writer," available in the print edition only, where I always seem to find something something useful and inspiring. I bet you will too.