I’ve been thinking a lot lately. (*gasps from the crowd* Whaaaat? John? THINKING? What is this madness?) I’ve been thinking about writing, about publishing, about all of these great people doubting themselves and their writing, thinking they aren’t good enough, or should just give up now–or ANYTHING. And it always hurts when writers doubt themselves, or question why they are even spending their time writing their books because they think they aren’t good enough.
So, why?
We write because we love it, because we can’t not write; writing is hard because you care, and that in itself is an amazing thing–to care about something so much that it causes you this amount of stress.
And sometimes, publishing, or the need to write a perfect book (spoiler: there is no such thing), gets in the way of that, that love. Of course, this sucks, but it’s also only natural. Sometimes it’s important to go back to the little thing that got you into writing in the first place: your passion for it. No matter what stage of your writing career you are at, remember why you’re doing it. It’s natural to feel stressed over writing–in fact, it’s probably a good sign that you are–but never, ever, think you can’t do it, or you aren’t good enough, because if you love what you’re doing, you will be good enough. Maybe you are right now. Maybe not. But you. will. get. there. Also? There is always room to improve no matter what stage you are at, except you can only improve if you truly love what you’re doing. Which, if you’re a writer, is a resounding, “YES IT STRESSES ME THE FREAK OUT BUT YES I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.”
So my point? Don’t give up on writing just because you think your book will never be published, or because you don’t think you’re any good at it. Just write. Just work as hard as you can on every book and enjoy it. ENJOY IT. If you love to write, then write. And I promise, if you keep working at it, you will get there.
You will.
–John
