Writing is hard?

I'm a little tired of hearing how hard it is to write, to get published, to find an agent. For years I believed it and allowed all this discouragement within the industry to keep me from writing.

But even if it is hard, so what? What isn't? Going to work at a job you hate year after year is hard. Having children and going without sleep night after night as you nurse a sick baby is hard. Making a marriage work through difficult times is hard. Losing a job and wondering where the next meal is coming from is hard. Living with illness, family problems, financial difficulty is hard.

Writing? It's a piece of cake. It's more fun than any of those other things that make up ordinary life. It's easy!

And publishing? So what if it takes a while to see your work in print. Try harder. Quit moaning and get to work.

Can't find an agent on the first try? Try again. Keep on until it works. Improve the book. Whatever it takes.

But for goodness sake, let's stop complaining about how hard it all is. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.