the top 10 fiction books of 2007

Writing tip: These top 10 fiction books of 2007 (as deemed by Time) were once just the glimmer of an idea in the writer’s mind. I don’t know how the writers came up with the ideas for these books, or how long the books took to write, or how many rejection letters the writers received and burned or filed.

But I do know that these books represent hard work and dedication. Even if a book doesn’t make it to the bestseller list or someone’s top 10, it still required mountains of discipline, hope, and faith. A dash of self-confidence and courage probably didn’t hurt, either.

If Diaz, Ferris, Hosseini, Petterson and the other six writers on this list can do it – then so can you. And so can I.

The top 10 fiction books of 2007:

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz


2. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris


3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini


4. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson


5. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson


6. The House of Meetings by Martin Amis


7. No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July


8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Dallows by J.K. Rowling


9. Like You’d Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard


10. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
    

These books represent writing hope, writing dreams, and writing goals. These writers followed their hearts and listened to their editors, and wrote through their insecurities and fears.

writing quotations about rejection

I discovered this fantastic book at the Vancouver Public Library: The Writer’s Book of Hope: Getting From Frustration to Publication by Ralph Keyes. It’s exactly what I need as a writer.

Every week, I send a dozen query letters for my non-fiction articles. Once a week I’ll get a “no thanks, it’s not in our editorial line up.” Mostly I get no response. Once a month I’ll get an assignment. In December, I actually received 4 assignments, and last September I sold 5 articles.

But mostly I hear nothing, so I keep sending article queries out. It’s really really difficult to keep meeting my writing goals when I see minimal growth – but I remind myself there has been growth. That counts for a lot.

Sometimes, writing rejections motivate me to write better. Other times I just want to give up and go kayaking. Luckily, I found The Writer’s Book of Hope!

Writing quotation: “To working writers, rejection is like stings to a beekeeper: a painful but necessary part of their vocation. They understand that the return of their work isn’t meant as a personal rebuff (or seldom is, anyway). It just feels that way,” says Keyes.

Keyes described Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield’s rejections from twenty major publishers (the Chicken Soup for the Soul series). Their agent, Jeff Herman, says, “[Hansen and Canfield] instinctively understood that all those rejections were simply an uncomfortable part of a process that would eventually get them were they wanted to be.”

Writing tip: See rejection an unavoidable part of being a writer. It’s uncomfortable, and it can distract you from your writing dreams and goals, but it’s simply part of the process.

Another writing quotation about rejection: “No rejection is fatal until the writer walks away from the battle leaving dreams and goals behind,” says Jeff Herman (Hansen and Canfield’s literary agent).

Still another writing quotation about rejection: “Writers often feel…that repeated rejections accompanied by reasoned letters mean that in the end there’s no hope. This is simply not true,” says John Gardner.

Don't walk away from the battle, friends.

writing quotation about self-acceptance

Natalie Goldberg offers writing inspiration to gazillions of both emerging and established writers. The following writing quotation is from Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life. Goldberg also wrote Writing Down the Bones and Thunder and Lightning. She has a new book, out in February 2008, called The Great Failure. She’s an amazing role model. She and Anne Tyler and Annie Dillard rock, man. So does Martha Beck and Robert Bly. And Stephen King has some pretty good writing tips too.

Anyway, on to Goldberg's writing advice.

Writing quotation: “We have to accept ourselves in order to write. Now none of us does that fully: few of us do it even halfway. Don’t wait for one hundred percent acceptance of yourself before you write, or even eight percent acceptance. Just write. The process of writing is an activity that teaches us about acceptance,” says Natalie in Wild Mind.

Writing tip: We can’t wait for life (or ourselves) to be perfect before we pursue our writing dreams. For me, this means I can’t hold off until I have the ideal office before I set my writing goals. I can’t wait until I accept myself or even love myself before I send out those article queries and book proposals. All I can do is take my writing ideas and inspirations, and put them on paper (or the screen), and send them out there. That may increase my self-acceptance. Or maybe it won’t. It doesn't really matter.
d

What's holding you back from setting and achieving your writing goals? The sooner you figure it out and practice self-acceptance, the sooner you'll be writing the way you want.

Dillard’s writing quotation about extraordinary states

Writing quotation: “But how, if you are neither an Aztec maiden or Zulu warrior, do you prepare yourself, all alone, to enter an extraordinary state on an ordinary morning?” asks Annie Dillard.

Sarah Ban Breathnach has a practical answer. “By showing up. Day in, day out. By not judging how it’s going. If it’s going at all, that’s enough. You can’t afford to think about how the work will be received when you’re finished. That’s not your job. Remember, we’re learning to surrender the delivery details of our dreams. Our job, then, is just to do it.”

“It can’t be published, produced, performed or purchased if it doesn’t exist,” says Breathnach.

Writing tip: Set a schedule that will propel you towards your writing dreams. You don’t have to “feel” like writing and you don’t have to “feel” creative. All you have to do is show up. After you show up and work for half an hour, reward yourself with something you love to do. Don't reward yourself until you've worked for some predetermined amount of time.

These writing quotations came from Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance.

a writing tip about expectations

Writing quotation: “I approach my work with a passionate intensity, acting as if its success depends entirely on me,” says Sarah Ban Breathnach. “But once I’ve done my best, I try to let go as much as possible and have no expectations about how my work will be received by the world.”

If you’re afraid and anxious about people’s reactions to your poetry, stories or articles, you'll dampen or even kill your writing passion.

Writing tip: Tap into the source of your creativity, and let your thoughts and ideas flow. You can’t control how your work will be received; all you can do is write it. You don’t know if it’ll be loved, hated, or ignored -- and it really doesn't matter. At the end of the day, all that matters is that you tried. You followed your passion and chased your writing dreams.

The rest is gravy.

This writing quotation came from Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance.

writing tip: commit to your dreams

Writing quotation: “Unless one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the Providence moves too,” says W.H. Murray.

Writing tip: When you commit yourself to move in the direction of your writing dreams, the universe will work with you. It's the law of attraction, and it's all about writing advice. Watch:

“All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: ‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.’ ”

Thanks to my friend Maggie Raynor for this great writing quotation and writing tip! It was from W.H. Murray and his experience with the Scottish Himalayan Expedition.

To learn more about how the universe responds when you take action, try:

• How Positive Energy Affects Your Life
• Highlights of the Secret Movie
• Applying the Secret to Your Life