The blank page,
the impossible deadline, the exhilarating rush of inspiration,
the perils of publication: There is no profession more
maddening or more rewarding than being a writer. Yet
surprisingly, all writers, no matter how famous or successful,
pass through the same sequence of stages in the course
of their careers. It was this remarkable insight that
inspired veteran writers Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott
to pool their talents and write a book. The result is
one of the wisest and liveliest guides to the literary
life ever written—a volume of astonishing revelation,
warm reassurance, brilliant encouragement, and welcome
humor.
Drawing on their own experience
as writers of fiction and nonfiction as well as the
insights of scores of colleagues, Pickard and Lott follow
the trajectory of the writer’s life from the first
time that inner voice whispers “I want to write”
to the burst of accomplishment that comes when the book
is finished, the vision expressed, the dream made real.
No matter what you write or how much recognition you’ve
received, if you’re serious about writing as a
profession, you are bound to pass through the seven
steps on the writer’s path. Pickard and Lott call
these steps Unhappiness, Wanting, Commitment, Wavering,
Letting Go, Immersion, and Fulfillment.
Are you sunk in a pit of loneliness
and confusion, burdened by pressures you can neither
name nor escape? Welcome to the stage of Unhappiness,
what Pickard and Lott call the “precreative state.”
Don’t worry, Tolstoy and Stephen King have been
there before you, and somehow they cleared the abyss
of Wanting (desires you can’t shake, jealousies
that sting like bees) and climbed the ladder of Commitment.
Wavering is where you hit the
wall, tread water, and succumb to the dread paralysis
of writer’s block and the abuse of unsympathetic
editors and critics. E. B. White said a writer is like
a surfer waiting for the perfect wave—and in the
stage of Letting Go, that wave finally crests, releasing
the torrent of creativity that carries you through the
deeply satisfying stages of Immersion and Fulfillment.
Pickard and Lott are the buddies
every writer dreams of—always there to light the
way and lighten your mood, generous with advice and
sympathy, and bold enough to give you the occasional
kick in the pants. Whether you’re a “wannabe”
writer or a published literary veteran, you’re
bound to find this book a source of true delight, vital
wisdom, and lasting inspiration.
