The Power of Persistence

One of my favorite classes that I took in college was a creative writing class taught by Stephen Kuusisto. Under Professor Kuusisto’s instruction, we dissected and decoded poetry, essays, and short stories from the “beatnik” generation. Though I’d read and loved pieces from Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson, I was introduced to many other writers who didn’t have as much fame or glory as the popular writers. Our textbook was “The Portable Beat Reader” which I’ve kept and thumbed through every couple of years.

Professor Kuusisto was one of the most compassionate and passionate professors I had in college, and I vividly remember one class in which he talked about his journey as a blind writer in the world. He talked about how his disability had been such a defining factor in his life, and yet, he was so much more than his blindness. What I remember most though was his answer to a question someone asked.

“How did you find success with your writing?”

His answer: “I was persistent.”

Three little words that I remember to this day. As a young woman with very little experience in the “real world,” I didn’t appreciate the deep sentimentality and resilience in that statement. But now, I do. Now, I see that his persistence was courage and belief in himself. I understand now that talent and skill are only a small fraction of the ingredients that make a successful writer — the more important ones being persistence, faith, and luck.

I kept that little nugget of wisdom tucked inside my brain and have pulled it out at many points in my life, especially when it comes to writing.

When I was working to get my first novel, The Right Kind of Wrong published, I remember there were many awful nights I spent crying and wanting to quit because it was so difficult. But a voice would sound in my head: “You have to keep going.” The truth is — the voice that tells you to quit is so much louder and stronger than the other voices. And it never goes away, even after you’ve written a substantial amount. But the voice that tells you to keep going never leaves either. But it’s an active choice to listen and actually believe the voice that tells you persistence is key.

Many years ago, I attended a writer's conference with a lot of well-known and popular authors. I sat in on a panel conversation where four or five authors talked about their process and experiences in publishing. I truly can’t remember which authors were on the panel or who said the words, but I remember the advice that was given. Someone in the crowd asked, “What’s your advice to new writers when it comes to getting your books published?”

The author responded, “Focus on writing the next book, and the next one, and the one after that. Write as much as you can until they have no choice but to notice your perseverance and dedication to writing books.”

I felt this deep in my bones. It was another affirmation that persistence (or perseverance) played a larger role in publishing than just about anything else.

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As a writer who has spent a lot of time and years in the writing industry now, I credit persistence for almost every accomplishment I’ve attained. It wasn’t my talent or my skill that brought me to this moment… it was my incessant need to persist. To keep going even when I felt like there was nothing left to give. My persistence felt (and still does feel) like a rebellion of sorts. To me, there is nothing more rebellious than continuing to do the thing that people say you cannot do. Or the thing that they expect you to quit or fail at.

The kernel of truth for any writer who believes they were born to write is that persistence is mandatory… not optional. We write because we can’t NOT write. We write because writing is as essential to us as breathing is. To be persistent in some form or fashion for an extremely long time says something about a person. Especially when that person has found no proverbial success and yet, they continue on.

I guess I never really believed that I had much of a choice to be honest. I always felt like I had to be persistent. That it was the only way to achieve these crazy dreams of being a writer. And that has followed me through every type of writing endeavor I’ve ever started — not just books.

I know that my persistence to write about things that matter to me is what led me to heal through fiction. I know it’s the reason why I continue to write articles, like this one, because someone else may find value in it and I need it as much as they do. And it’s why I continue to write transparently about my life and in particular, my writing life.

And, when I read the words of an author who has persisted in their writing life, despite the odds stacked against them, I feel a kindred soul connection and an overwhelming sense of gratitude that they kept going.

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Though this article is slanted toward writing, I have to believe that being persistent no matter the industry, no matter the event or experience, is one of the most important skills or trait someone can possess.

I think back to all the amazing women role models of mine and they all have the persistent gene running in their blood. They were told “no” or “shut up” at some point in their lives and nevertheless, they persisted.

If you get anything from this article, I hope it’s the empowerment and encouragement to cultivate and celebrate your own personal persistence in whatever it is that you’ve been doing or trying to achieve. Success is never guaranteed, but your willingness to keep going will always be remembered.