Keep Learning, Never Stop
One thing I am committed to is learning. I never want to stop learning, though my focus shifts from time to time. For example, years ago I was asked to write a mystery novel for grown-ups. Though I had read hundreds of them I’d never written one, so I became really committed to learning more about mystery novels for adults. I’ve thrown myself into a similar focused commitment to learning about writing for educational markets (when I’d only written for magazines), writing for children (when I’d only written adult nonfiction), and writing good query letters (when I’d really only worked with editors giving assignments). Whenever I run across some place where my lack of learning is impeding my drive to succeed, I refocus again. And during the learning time, I can be obsessive, devouring everything I can find on the subject. It’s the kind of obsessive focus I turn on research sometimes as well. It always represents a merging of interest, commitment, and need. But before beginning on any le