JK ROWLING has revealed the advice she wished she had recieved whilst writing her first Harry Potter novel.
The award-winning author took to Twitter this morning to reveal the uplifting advice which included “do not ever quit out of fear of rejection”.
Responding to a tweet from social media user @beauty_jackson the 51 year-old launched into a “sermon” of nine tweets to her fans.
@beauty_jackson tweeted: “HEY! YOU! You’re working on something and you’re thinking ‘Nobody’s gonna watch, read, listen.’ Finish it anyway.”
Replying, Rowling launched in to a motivational series of tweets telling her fans that she wished she had received the same advice in the 1990s.
Her first message read: “There were so many times in the early 90s when I needed somebody to say this to me. It’s great advice for many reasons.”
She continued:”Even if it isn’t the piece of work that finds an audience, it will teach you things you could have learned no other way.”
“(And by the way, just because it didn’t find an audience, that doesn’t mean it’s bad work.)
“The discipline involved in finishing a piece of creative work is something on which you can truly pride yourself.
“You’ll have turned yourself from somebody who’s ‘thinking of’, who ‘might’, who’s ‘trying’, to someone who DID. And once you’ve done it…
“… you’ll know you can do it again. That is an extraordinarily empowering piece of knowledge. So do not ever quit out of fear of rejection.
She added: “Maybe your third, fourth, fiftieth song/novel/painting will be the one that ‘makes it’, that wins the plaudits…
“… but you’d never have got there without finishing the others (all of which will now be of more interest to your audience.)”
Before concluding: “Here endeth today’s sermon and thanks to @beauty_jackson for her original words of wisdom.”
Her inspiring series of nine tweets have been liked over 33,000 times and retweeted by almost 10,000 people.
The now internationally renowned writer had her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, rejected 12 times and was told ‘not to quit her day job’ before eventually being published.
Responding to her tweets, fellow Twitter users commended her words of wisdom.
@JonahGreen wrote: “Thank you so much for this”
@ShawnGarrett said: “This is exactly what I need to be hearing right now. Thank you.”
@Theremina commented: “Thank you both. I really, really needed to hear this tonight.”
@Roukaioshin tweeted: “I used to leave a lot of things unfinished. Now I finish most of my writing.”
