When You Think You Might Quit...

Don't. (I think this might be the first blog post I've ever written that didn't start with the word "dude" "okay" or "so." Check it.) ((Also, warning, later in this post, there are some possibly disturbing pictures. Don't say I didn't warn you.))

Don't quit.

Things might get hard. Writing is hard. Revising is hard. Querying is hard. Marketing and publicity is hard. I'm sure that, intellectually, you know this. But do you know it?

Today, I'm going to share a story. A story of a kid. He was in my husband's sixth grade class last year, and he's suffered from seizures his whole life, being born with epilepsy. He's had countless surgeries, beginning when he was just tiny.

This past spring, he went in for some more treatment. Specifically, the doctors went into his brain and put grids on it.

Grids.

On his brain.

They then reduced his seizure medication, so that he'd have more seizures. They wanted to find the places where the seizures were originating. Then they cut out those parts of his brain that showed the most activity. It was at this point that my husband and I went to the hospital to visit the boy and his mom.

And let me tell you, that if you're thinking about quitting this whole writing thing--or anything really--think again.

Look at this:

And this:

And then look at your manuscript, and don't quit. If this kid can endure having his entire skull sliced open, you can surely get back into your manuscript and put a grid on it. Find out where the weaknesses are and cut them out. Sure, it might hurt, but do you ever think you'll have to endure anything like this kid? (I'm seriously hoping I don't.)

I'm dieting right now, and it's hard. I'll be starting school again next week, and that will be hard. Surely you have something in your life that makes you go, "Ugh. This is hard."

You know what? It probably is. But hard things are worth doing.

So yeah. Motivational message of the day: You can do hard things. Don't quit.

Have you survived something hard?