Times (of London) ‘obit’ (18 January 2017) on William Peter Blatty, author of ‘The Exorcist’, Oscar winner (‘Best Adapted Screenplay’, 1974):
‘When his novel The Exorcist was first published in 1971 it was a slow starter. “I got very nice reviews . . . but nobody was buying the book,” he said. The screenplay was greeted with similar indifference. “I could paper the walls of my bathroom with rejection slips.”’
I guess it comes down to self-belief and belief in what you do and what you’ve got, a belief that comes from deep, deep within your soul, your essence, that despite everything that the so-called experts and professionals are telling you ad nauseum, you just KNOW, not think or reckon or guess but KNOW, that you have something of value, something good, and that knowledge, that unbreakable, un-shatterable, belief is a 360 degree wall around you which cannot be breached by the contrary judgements of others….and that belief must be matched, married with, a determination and commitment, an obsession, which is all-consuming, which deafens and blinds you, which doesn’t allow any negativity, any “but’s”, any “what if?”s, any fear to penetrate the walls of your tunnel vision…
It’s exhausting, yet exciting, life-enhancing, invigorating and encouraging just thinking about it….
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