Quotes and Cookies: Guts

"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential." 

~Jessamyn West

I'd like to clarify. You can write a story and not have guts. But those really great stories? Those take a huge amount of guts to write! It takes guts to put yourself out there in the way needed to tell the story you're trying to tell, or to get inside a character's head you don't love being in. Sometimes it takes guts to put a character you love into an awful situation. Heck, it takes guts to write a lot of things when you step back and think about all the people that could potentially read it.

And sometimes, you get an idea for a story that is huge. Way bigger than you feel you can tackle. One that will stretch you further than you think you can go. It takes a huge amount of guts to attempt those kinds of stories.

Whew! It's a good thing that guts grow on trees!

Oh, wait. They don't. Unless you count this:

Florida, USA - Image Credit: taurusami

But I'm kind of betting that you don't....

Were you born with the kind of guts it takes to write, or have you had to develop them along the way?

Oh, and speaking of guts, have a cookie with some mighty tasty guts. ;)

Photo credit and recipe link

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!