Hope
The ground around us rumbled as his anger shook the building. “It’s all against us.” He bemoaned so loudly, people at the writer’s conference dove under tables and ducked under sturdy door frames. “I don’t understand.” I gripped a nearby support beam. “Only romance is published!” “Ah.” I rubbed my ruptured eardrum. “You write action, lots of violence. Right?” He told me about the attack jet F-15’s new forward cannon that fired silver bullets to tear demons to shreds. He stomped the ground and the building nearly collapsed. “But the whole industry is sexist. They won’t publish it.” "No, it's not sexist." I warned him not to throw around false accusations. Then I read the first chapter of his work. It wasn’t going to sell. The tone was angry and bitter, and a quick glance at the end showed no difference.
I’ve read hundreds of unpublished bits of work like his, and I've noticed this:
A writer's attitude and emotions are reflected in the characters. What message is the fundamental takeaway that not only sells, but that will best serve this world?
Hope
Your work must have hope. A hope of a future, a hope of happiness, a hope of an absence of pain.