 |
| Porträt Baudelaires by Gustave Courbet |
I’m always fascinated by what makes artists tick.
It’s not always a rational pursuit, in fact it’s usually the opposite of a rational pursuit. It’s not something you can prove ahead of time in numbers or formulas or a plan you know is going to work. You’re operating on gut instinct and some ideas and a whole lot of faith.
So what’s the most important quality a writer can possess? What do writers have in common?
There are a lot that spring to mind, but I’m going with determination.
What about you?
Agreed. When I first saw the title of your post, my first thought was: Persistence.
Honestly, I think it's "passion." Without passion for your subject matter, you'll never have the determination to complete the long and arduous journey.
Also agree – my first thought was "tenacity"!
Selfless objectivity. A writer's first priority should be their audience. If you're always thinking about what's best for readers you won't cling to bad material or resist strong critique.
Thick skin. Without it, even the most talented writers will implode.
I agree about persistence.
However, given the persistence, I would say that an artist needs to be deeply and compulsively perceptive, and in love with the finely expressed perceptions of others.
I'm going to agree with these comments – being determined to see a project through to the end is vital. But getting started is key, so I think the big one is self-motivation. The desire to feed oneself is also probably up there in the top five.
Faith. I think, faith in yourself, your writing…and faith that the dream is going to come to fruition. A person with both faith and determination is going to be a sure success!
I'm going to second Allan Petersen. Passion all the way.
I was thinking dedication, but determination does the job, too, as does persistence. As in most endeavors, showing up to do the work is more than half the battle.
the first thing that came to mind was perseverance, because if I hadn't persevered, if I had given up after x amount of years, I wouldn't have written anything and I wouldn't be where I am now.
The most important Quality for a writer is – QUALITY.
(Referenece: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)
Discipline. To be a successful writer, you must discipline yourself to write no matter what else is going on in your life. You must be your own boss and push yourself to sit down and write. Without that, nothing gets accomplished.
Bloody mindedness all the way!
These are all great! And I think that maybe this sort of question is always going to be individualized. Because I can't answer this without thinking about what qualities I really need to keep myself writing and to keep myself ENJOYING writing.
So for me personally, I would say (because I can't pick just one) patience and unwavering belief in myself. I think that patience ties up so much for a writer. First of all, just developing a style and a voice can take years. Then actually writing something decent. Then submitting. Then waiting. Then getting rejected. Then getting over being rejected. Then writing something even better. Then submitting again. And waiting some more…
And through it all, a person really has to believe in themselves. Like REALLY believe.
ew, that typo was just gross. my apologies so early in the morning.
With the way my writing project is currently going, I'm going to have to go with "a firm grip on sanity."