A few nights ago I started reading Writing to Sell by Scott Meredith, a writer and literary agent of great renown. He created his own literary agency and represented some very big names like Arthur C. Clarke, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ellery Queen, Carl Sagan, and Philip K. Dick. Meredith certainly had the experience to back up his writing of this book.

The first edition was published in 1950. My copy is a reprint issued in 1995 by Writer’s Digest Books. For this thing to still be in print fifty plus years since its first publication is testimony to the sound advice found in the book. Although there are a few things from the Fifties era that stand out, I don’t think I would have noticed them if I hadn’t known when the book had been originally printed.

Meredith has some very good things to say. The first chapter got me to thinking about the mentality of a writer.

In my opinion, writers can be put into two camps of people: those who want to write, and those who do write. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of will power to cross over from one category to the other.

Meredith says:

I’ve found again and again that the surest indication of the genuine writer is that amount of push and drive inside him that keeps him struggling to succeed at writing. His early scripts may not show it, and you sometimes have the feeling that the kindest thing would be to buy him a course in candymaking or welding, but if he keeps working away at it, you have the pleasure of watching his material change from terrible to fair to good to excellent.

Pure animal drive can take you from the category of “wanting to write” to the category of “actually writing.”

As I’ve heard it said before, “You’ve got to bleed words.”

It works like this in anything that you want to do. In most cases, passion and attitude can make up for whatever you may at first lack in talent.