A Writer, a Warrior

Taking on writing as a profession is no easy feat. You’ll have to deal with many factors that could hinder your getting published. You’ll get rejections or may even be asked to compromise your work for the sake of someone else’s interest. You might feel bullied by literary critics or ignored by even the most commercial of readers.

It takes a strong will and a passionate heart to continue writing even though at times you feel as if everything is going south.

Notwithstanding the hardships, being a writer is definitely one of the bravest professions in the world.

Freedom of speech is a basic human right. Although all of us embrace that right, some of us go a step further in their exercise of this freedom. I call these individuals writers and warriors

"A writer is a warrior because it takes a lot of courage to accept rejections."

Many writers, especially budding authors, go through difficult processes to get published. Finding a publisher that will accept and invest in your work is not an easy task.

Some of the popular authors we know today have experienced rejections. In her Twitter account, Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling shared her rejections both as Rowling and as Robert Galbraith (her pen name). When asked what motivates her, she said, “I had nothing to lose, and sometimes that makes you brave enough to try.”

Successful Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot also experienced multiple rejections for three years before her book was published. Her advice to aspiring writers is “Don’t give up. If you do get any kind of input, consider it. Don’t take it too much to heart if you don’t agree with it, but I got some good advice in my rejection letters. Write all the time and read as much as you can.”

It is hard to believe that these people were rejected more than a few times in their lives. But because of their warrior mind-set and never-give-up attitude, they have become living legends in literature.

"A writer is a warrior because it takes a great deal of fearlessness to write about bold and heroic themes."

Books such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant by Veronica Roth, although fiction, are examples of novels that took on brave themes. They have characters who have heroic personalities who are ready to take on anything to get justice not only for themselves but for other people as well. There is no doubt that the characters of Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior have become female role models to many young adults today.

Aside from their books about bravery, the authors also have other impressive achievements. Veronica Roth, for example, managed to sell the publishing rights of her New York Times best seller Divergent even before she graduated from college. Film deals followed suit.

Besides novel writers, many other writers, especially those in the media, have put their lives at risk for the sake of their audience. We’ve seen their stories in the news and read their exposés on newspapers. To be able to muster the courage to embark on a journey without guarantee of being able to safely return home is already an act of valor. Salute to these writers for taking on the challenge!

"A writer is a warrior because it takes a great deal of bravery to share his or her deepest and darkest thoughts."

Not all of us are newscasters or journalists, but we can still be warriors in the humblest of terms. Writing about your feelings and deepest, darkest thoughts also takes a lot of bravery. Pouring your heart out to someone is already difficult. Putting your feelings in writing—producing proof of your thoughts—is even much more difficult because you reveal your strengths as well as your weaknesses.

A good example of this is The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. In her diary entries, she referred to an imaginary person named Kitty. In her diary, she admitted that she wanted to find a true person to whom she could confide her feelings, but it is only to Kitty that she could reveal her deepest thoughts.c

"A writer is a warrior because he or she is open-minded."

Being open-minded means having a mind-set that is receptive to criticisms. Instead of harboring vengeful thoughts against his or her critics, a courageous writer takes criticisms as lessons that could help him or her better his or her craft. A warrior-writer is not afraid to own up to his or her mistake and accepts when he or she is told that his or her writing needs improvement.

As such, any writer should be open-minded to accept help from other people such as proofreaders. Open-minded writers are open to the idea of writing in collaboration with proofreaders. Instead of getting intimidated, a brave writer treats his or her proofreader as a buddy.

"A writer is a warrior because he or she recognizes other people’s skills."

Writer-warriors know that no man is an island and that other people can help them with their work. They are not afraid to admit that they need to leverage on others’ skills to succeed. As a matter of fact, Meg Cabot hired an agent to help her find publishers. She recognized that an agent is better at dealing with publishers. She was not afraid to ask for help when she needed it.

Also, brave writers should write in collaboration with proofreaders. They ask for help from a proofreading and editing company because they see their worth. They know that they need a buddy to help them produce the best writing output.

Moreover, intelligent writers hire a company that has highly skilled and experienced proofreaders. A company like 1-Hour Proofreading can provide a fast, high-quality proofreading service with a guaranteed one-hour turnaround time.

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A late warrior never wins a battle. Take advantage of the services at
www.1hourproofreading.com and consider yourself a full-fledged warrior!

Sources:

• Goldsmith, B. (2007). Book Talk: Author Cabot shares rejection with Rowling. Retrieved from Reuters.com
• Kennedy, M. (2016). JK Rowling posts letters of rejection on Twitter to help budding authors. Retrieved from The Guardian

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