"... Novelty is overrated; Success often comes when you're second or third, or even twenty-second, to the party. The key is to keep pushing, because you're more likely to succeed with experience –– and also because you're likelier to get lucky as time passes."
–– Adam Alter, South African writer and professor
Source: Adam Alter. Anatomy of a Breakthrough. Toronto: Simon & Shuster, 2023; p. 30.
via: Commonplace Book 2022, 2023, p. 132.
"People who want to write either do it or they don't. At last I began to say that my most important talent – or habit – was persistence. Without it, I would have given up writing long before I finished my first novel. It's amazing what we can do if we simply refuse to give up."
–– Octavia Butler (1947-2006), American science fiction writer
"First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice."
–– Octavia Butler (1947-2006), American science fiction writer
