Patience and Persistence - Two Writerly Qualities it Pays to Have

Writers who have been around awhile know patience and peristence are nice qualities to have because they really do pay. It doesn't matter if you write online content, books or for magazines, being a writer requires patience to build and persistence to get where you want to be. This is something new writers should know and a good reminder for the old timers.

Let's take a look at patience and all the situations we need this quality for in our daily writerly life. We need to exercise patience as we slowly build up our writing portfolio. No writer is going to become a household name overnight. Too many people jump into online writing expecting to make hundreds of dollars a day right off the bat. They have serious unrealistic expectations. It takes patience to start bringing in the money in a decent amount. Money rises as you build your portfolio and show people what you can do.

Outside of writing, but still very much writing related, are the things we also need patience for. We need patience when our muse deserts us, stranding us on Writer's Block in a bad neighborhood. We need this sterling quality when we're trying to work, but the kids, the husband or boyfriend, neighbor and that strange guy from the park keeps insisting on disrupting us. Ripping out one's hair leaves ugly bald spots and isn't all that attractive. Remember to breathe and let patience become your mantra.

Persistence is another writerly quality it pays to have. We need persistence to meet the goals we set for ourselves each day, week or month. It comes in handy when we need ideas to keep us writing. Persistence really counts if you're serious about being a full-time freelance writer and want to make enough money to pay all the bills. We're persistent as we send in query letters to magazine after magazine, publisher after publisher hoping this time we'll get more than a rejection letter.

Writers are a patiently persistent bunch who never give up, never quit and wield the written word like an experienced sword fighter. We love shaping letters into words, into sentences, into paragraphs, into entire articles and books. Keep your expectations realistic, set realistic goals, be the best writer you can be and one day you will be King or Queen of the writerly world.