The cello analogy stopped me completely. We would never tell a woman who spent a year learning something beautiful that it only counted if she performed on a stage. And yet we say it to ourselves about writing all the time. I started writing four months ago and it is still very new to me. The permission to pursue something simply because it matters to you , not because it will produce something measurable that shift is what changes everything.
Right? Yet we put so many parameters on how we can justify time spent writing. I'd argue the creative process is not only as worthwhile as the final outcome, but probably even more worthwhile! I've yet to meet a writer who hasn't credited their writing for some part of their personal growth.
This!!! Every single thing on your list resonated with me both as a writer and as someone who spends a lot of time online chatting with other writers about what it's like to be on this journey, so thank you.
I also really liked that the list kind of mapped onto the journey and progressed from believing in the value of our story all the way to treating writing as a business, because I really believe that every writer must go through these mindset shifts as they take their aspirations more and more seriously.
One of the tougher ones to master in my opinion is accepting that as passionate as we might feel about writing and reading as art forms, pursuing publication involves selling someone (many people in fact) a product, and that means we have to think about the market and our readers in a strategic way, too. Unless it's a hobby of course, which is great too!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments! I’m so glad this resonated with you. And you’re right…it is a journey. But I also find we never truly “master” these mindset shifts. It’s more an ongoing practice to remind ourselves, which means you can journey through, but then may have to double back again and again when something knocks you off that path…whether that’s tough feedback, an agent rejection, or your own internal critic. But I find both for myself and in my work with writers that the more you revisit these, the easier it gets each time.
The cello analogy stopped me completely. We would never tell a woman who spent a year learning something beautiful that it only counted if she performed on a stage. And yet we say it to ourselves about writing all the time. I started writing four months ago and it is still very new to me. The permission to pursue something simply because it matters to you , not because it will produce something measurable that shift is what changes everything.
Right? Yet we put so many parameters on how we can justify time spent writing. I'd argue the creative process is not only as worthwhile as the final outcome, but probably even more worthwhile! I've yet to meet a writer who hasn't credited their writing for some part of their personal growth.
Sometimes the growth is not in publishing the words. It is in discovering what was sitting underneath them the whole time.
This is me in a nutshell. I just posted about writing doubt and this shows up in my feed. Perfect timing. 🙏
I love when those signs show up just when you need them!
Absolutely yes - and thank you!
You're welcome. Glad it was helpful!
I needed to read this today. Thank you for sharing!
So glad! I love when we land on just the thing we need to read at the exact right time.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Always happy to provide that, Billie! 😊
This!!! Every single thing on your list resonated with me both as a writer and as someone who spends a lot of time online chatting with other writers about what it's like to be on this journey, so thank you.
I also really liked that the list kind of mapped onto the journey and progressed from believing in the value of our story all the way to treating writing as a business, because I really believe that every writer must go through these mindset shifts as they take their aspirations more and more seriously.
One of the tougher ones to master in my opinion is accepting that as passionate as we might feel about writing and reading as art forms, pursuing publication involves selling someone (many people in fact) a product, and that means we have to think about the market and our readers in a strategic way, too. Unless it's a hobby of course, which is great too!
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments! I’m so glad this resonated with you. And you’re right…it is a journey. But I also find we never truly “master” these mindset shifts. It’s more an ongoing practice to remind ourselves, which means you can journey through, but then may have to double back again and again when something knocks you off that path…whether that’s tough feedback, an agent rejection, or your own internal critic. But I find both for myself and in my work with writers that the more you revisit these, the easier it gets each time.