Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Maya Angelou

Welcome back to another episode of Writer’s Quote Wednesday on The PBS Blog as Hosted by Colleen of Silver Threading. This week, I take inspiration from Maya Angelou:

I still remember when I told my English teacher I wanted to be a writer in High School. Instantly her eyes blushed the same color of worry my mother’s does when she knows I want to do something that is near impossible. As nice as she could put it, she explained that I may want to get an additional job, you know, just in case. Little did she know however that I’d wanted to write books since elementary school, and nothing she said was going to change that. She’d explained how difficult it is for writers and I even had a glimpse of them portrayed in movies. Always the same story: a struggling writer who can’t make ends meet because no one buys his books.

Any author understands how extreme the challenges can be. It seems that if you wish to take on writing and publishing, then you must also wish to take on defeat and failure. But when I read this quote, I am reminded that many of the struggles we endure are necessary to erect a kind of strength, a gift, or a power that we didn’t know existed inside of us at all. If I had not gone through what I have in my life, I would never be as effective in overcoming similar stumbling blocks headed my way. But these struggles do more than strengthen the individual, they strengthen others. None of the education in the world can compare to experience. When you’ve been between a rock and a hard place you can encourage and inspire others with your testimony, same as Angelou has just inspired us here. So, like her, I’d advise this Writer’s Quote Wednesday:

When you encounter many struggles in your writing endeavors, understand that it may be necessary for you to encounter them so that you can find your voice and become stronger at what you do. No hardship seems pleasant at the time, but know that in the end it is for your benefit.

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