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I’ve seen the little shop for years. It sits across the parking lot from a large backpacking store I frequently visit. But I had never stepped foot inside, though I wanted to many times.

Two days ago I realized I needed a good dart board. (I’ve been under some stress lately and instinctively felt that throwing darts at a bulls-eye would be soothing.) So I drove down to Sally’s Dart Shop and went in. The small store was empty – no customers, no Sally. But it was filled with rows and rows of darts, boards and dart-throwing accessories.

Then Sally emerged from a back room. She appeared to be in her 60s and was probably a beauty in her day. Her personality filled the room immediately. She welcomed me, asked my name, introduced herself, offered me some candy, and then captured me in a flow of enthusiasm for all things darts.

Sally was a championship dart-thrower some years ago, as the medals on the walls around her shop attested. Although wrist problems have prevented her from throwing darts anymore, her love of the sport has continued unabated. Her eyes gleamed as she showed me her large assortment of expensive, competition-grade darts – things of beauty, every one. Her face shone as she described the transcendent benefits I would reap from the sport.

By the time I walked out of her shop a half-hour later, having spent far more than I had anticipated, I was so excited to throw darts that I was tempted to take my new board out of the box right there in the parking lot and have at it.

As I drove home, I thought, “There’s someone who totally loves her work.” Then it occurred to me that because she loves it so much, it isn’t really work at all. It’s play. She can get up every morning and say, “I’m going to play!”

My next thought was, “Do I love writing as much as Sally loves darts?”

I’ll ask you the same question. Do you love writing with that sort of enthusiasm? If you do, you will spend time writing even when you don’t have to. You will find yourself thinking about it in the nooks and crannies of time that come your way during the day and night. Your love for what you’re doing will shine through your work and pull others into it and along with it – not just readers, but editors or bosses or whoever are the gatekeepers of your words. Your enthusiasm for writing will be perhaps even more important to your success than talent.

But what if your answer is no? What if you don’t love writing like Sally loves darts?

Let’s be frank. For most of us, writing is a love-hate relationship. We’re simply not going to love it all the time. There will be times when it’s not going well. When we seem blocked. When we’re frustrated with it. When we hate it.

The trick is … wait – there is no trick. You simply have to weather the storms and hang in there until the clouds part and the sun breaks through. I’m sure there were times in Sally’s competitive career when she was off her game. I’m sure she thought she hated the sport during those times. But really, she didn’t. She loved the game. She was just frustrated.

Had she quit during one of those times and taken a job at a bank, she wouldn’t have as many medals on her walls and would not have gone into semi-retirement as a past-champion with a delightful little dart shop. And I wouldn’t have a dart board on my office wall today.

Don’t quit. Keep writing through the tough, dry times. If you ever truly loved writing, that love is alive and well somewhere inside you. It’s just hiding. It will return, and when your enthusiasm breaks through once again, you’ll be forever grateful that you didn’t quit when it was dark.

PS. Take a shot at this week’s Word Shot! Click here.

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