Tag Archives: Perseverance

How Gritty are You?

To succeed at writing, you need patience and perseverance. As James Baldwin said:

Image result for writer james baldwin Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.

If you don’t dig in to pursue your long-term writing goal, then your manuscript will become another dust gatherer.

Angela Duckworth is a psychologist, academic and popular science author who’s studied grit—which she defines as  passion and perseverance for long-term goals.

Image result for psychologist Angela Duckworth

She’s devised a test to measure your grit:

 http://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/

Click on MORE ABOUT GRIT for information about what this means.

I scored 4.59 out of 5—higher than about 95% of American adults in a recent studyproving what my mother used to say about me, that I‘m mule-headed!

How did you do?

Never Give Up! Rejected 200 times, then wins book award

A heartening story about an author who persevered for ten years, through 200 rejections, before getting published. 

Brian Conaghan found himself in the running for the overall Costa Book Award, having won the children’s prize.

Coatbridge writer Brian Conaghan wins Costa book award – BBC News

Hope for us all!

I’m too bloody-minded to quit—some call this determination—others stubbornness.

I just hope that I don’t end up like one of those fighters who won’t admit defeat, staying in the ring until they turn the lights out!