​Writing is a Quixotic endeavor.
 
And I don’t say that because I just wrote a book in which the main character acts like the beloved knight. Writing is indeed a Quixotic endeavor. As writers, we are always in the quest for the impossible dream.
 
If you get to know Don Quijote up close and personal—really, it’s not such a far-fetched idea, it’s considered the first modern novel—the parallels to the writing life are striking. The book was written by Spanish writer Miguel De Cervantes and was released in two parts, one in 1605 and one in 1612. So long ago, but so many parallels.

Don Quijote is a nobleman who reads, reads, reads. His reading inspires him and teaches him to become a knight. Reading, reading, reading, is part and parcel of the writer’s life. We read to be inspired. To be lifted. To learn how to joust with words and tame them to do our bidding. And many thought Don Quijote lost his mind . . . how many times do we doubt our sanity? Over and over again. Putting ourselves out there knowing that we will work hard and be disappointed time and again . . . Yep. Lots of doubts.​