Lance Armstrong and the Writer

Story writing has its own hurtles, what with developing a story, its characters, plotting, pacing, dialogue, setting, and on and on. Publishing is a whole other set of hurtles. And, of course, there are various levels of “being published.” The whole storytelling process, from formulating a story to finding a publisher (if you feel that’s necessary), demands one basic quality: persistence.

I was reminded of that today when I saw an ad for cycling glasses that featured Lance Armstrong. As a wuxia novelist, I write stories about heroes and Lance is one of my heroes.

Well, the ad featured a quote from Lance. I don’t know what the quote has to do with cycling equipment, but it sure has a lot to do with writing. So I’ll pass it on here with the hope that you’ll also find it inspiring:

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.

Lance Armstrong

Zaijian!

The Innkeeper