STORY TOOLS

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Air Force fliers often say that flying in the USAF consists of long hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

A writer's life is something like that: Long hours, days, months of toil and drudgery, punctuated by moments of sheer delight.

You want to know what a writer's life is really like? Here's my usual routine:

I get up in the morning, fix a cup of coffee, and hit the keyboard. I write for anywhere from two to six hours at a stretch. Usually, I stop when the words start to look stodgy to me.

The rest of the day is for everything else: answering mail, paying bills, shopping, having dinner with my gorgeous wife, etc.

Doesn't sound terribly exciting, does it? Well, frankly, it's not.

People who aren't writers seem to believe that writers lead fascinating, exciting, romantic lives. That's because they never see a writer at work. They only see writers when the writer is having a good time: autographing books in a book store, for example, or being interviewed on television, or at a party or some public event.

Nobody sees a writer when he or she is at work. Nobody watches those long, sometimes agonizing hours when the writer is trying to hammer out a story that is worth reading.

Joseph Conrad was one of the greatest writers of the 19th century. Despite the fact that although his native language was Polish, he wrote in English. Here's what he once said about his working day:

"I sit down religiously every morning. I sit down for eight hours a day — and the sitting down is all. In the course of that working day of eight hours, I write three sentences which I erase before leaving the table in despair ... . Sometimes it takes all my resolution and power of self-control to refrain from butting my head against the wall."

Does that sound like fun to you?

Writing is hard work. The fruits of writing are fun, but before you can reap the fruit, you've got to plant the seed, grow the crop and harvest the results.

That's why I always tell new writers that there are three things a writer needs to be successful: talent, skill and perseverance. And of these three, the most important is perseverance.

Everybody has talent. Most people have enough to write well.

Everybody has a story to tell, even if it's only an autobiography or a memoir. Talent is inborn, no one can teach you talent.

Skill is a different matter. A writer must be able to construct a story in such a manner that readers will want to read it. Just as the most talented carpenter in the world won't find much work if he never learned to drive nails straight, all the talent in the world won't make a writer successful if he or she doesn't know how to construct a story properly.

Stories have structure, just as houses do. If the structure isn't sound, the story collapses, just as a house will collapse if it doesn't have a sound structure. It takes skill to construct a story well.

Fortunately, skill can be taught. You can learn the basic of story construction; you can acquire the skill needed to be a successful writer.

(There are some tips about writing skills on my Web site. The address is given below.)

But talent and skill are not enough. You need perseverance: old-fashioned, hang-in-there, stubborn, unshakable perseverance. That is the difference between a successful writer and a wistful wannabe. You have to do the work and be prepared to take the lumps.

A writer writes. It's not enough to talk about writing. It's not enough to yearn to be a writer. You must write. Every day. Despite floods and famines, despite hunger and pain, a writer puts words on paper. Family crises, medical emergencies, social engagements, friends who come a-calling — nothing should keep a writer from writing. If the house is on fire, well, maybe you can be excused, but take your computer with you when you flee.

That's the kind of drive and perseverance it takes to succeed. At anything — not only writing.

But for the writer, the dangers of being lured away from the work are constant and insidious. Writing is hard work. It's so easy to push the chair back and go off and have fun, instead. Or do some household chores. Or chat with your buddies.

Beware such traps. Sit there and write, even if you only do a few pages each day. In time those pages will add up to a short story. Or a novel. Or a career.

I write in the morning. For many years, before I could support myself and my family entirely by writing, I worked at "day jobs." I would get out of bed a couple of hours earlier than I needed to and spend the extra time writing. Then I would go to the office.

It's a lonely life. Marriages break up. Friends fall away. But the writing must come first.

And then, once in a while, you get a letter like this one, which I received via e-mail a few days ago:

"I just want to say thanks. Your science fiction novels have inspired me. When I started high school, I ... had no idea what subjects I wanted to concentrate in. However, I read your book "Mars," and I absolutely loved it. I read "Return to Mars," then "Jupiter," and so on. ...

"I decided I wanted to take as many science classes as I can ... and I found my passion. I'm a senior this year, and I am going to Duke University next year to study biomedical engineering.

"I still have a few of your books I've yet to read, but I am looking forward to reading them, and I hope you continue to keep inspiring kids like me."

That's a reward more precious than gold. As long as I have readers like that, all the lonely toil will be worthwhile.

Naples resident Ben Bova is the author of more than 110 books, including "Titan," his latest novel. Bova's Web site address is www.benbova.net.