#ToAFutureWriter
Dear Future Writer-
NaNoWriMo asked for writers to share advice with future writers. The best advice I can give you is do it. Just do it. Like Nike. We stress over whether the things we do will be good enough. Will people approve? Will people like our work? Will people like us? We worry that we're not smart enough or clever enough or just somehow not enough. All this fear can be paralyzing. So, sometimes, even though we love something, we don't do it.
If we never try, we cannot possibly fail. If we don't put our work (and by extension ourselves) out there, we can never be rejected or criticized. It makes us feel safe. But a life fully lived is not safe. To truly be passionate and amazing (and all of us can be) is to risk heartbreak, rejection and loss. The risks are great, true but the rewards are greater.
William G.T. Shedd said, "A ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for." That's not what you are for either. Besides, even when we behave like control freaks, realistically, there's not all that much we actually can control in life except our attitudes and how we chose to react to things. That feeling of "safety" is sometimes an illusion.
Did you know that the baseball players with the highest number of home runs, also have the highest number of strikeouts? Why? Because you don't accomplish anything without at least taking a swing at it. Sometimes you're going to fail but sometimes you're going to hit it out of the park. You will never know which unless you try.
My father, who I adore, has spent his entire life with a critical voice in his head. It say things like "you can't" and "that's stupid" and "who do you think you are, anyway?" He's a talented artist who is afraid to make art because it might not be good enough. I love the man more than I can say but I don't want to be him. And I don't want you to be him.
If you love it, do it. If you want to do it, do it. Don't worry if it's good enough. Don't wait until you're older or out of school or working or working a different job. Don't wait until you have the right friends, the right relationship or the right degree. If you love it, do it. Do it right now and keep doing it. If you fail, so be it. Try it again. And again. And again. Falling down is not a problem; it's the not getting back up which is problematic. This is true for anything in life.
I wrote a novel during NaNoWriMo last year. I published it this year. Yes, I am now a published author. This has been my dream since I started writing when I was 15. I have lot of other stories in me. I will continue to write. My only possible regret is that I didn't do it sooner!
I'm not saying it may not be scary. It may be VERY scary. Do it anyway. Believe in your writing. Believe in yourself. Even when you're struggling to find your words or keep your life in balance or feeling sad, just keep writing.
While it's true that life presents obstacles, I've found that the biggest, most terrifying, most seemingly hard to get around, are the ones we put in front of ourselves. Get out of your own way. Write from your heart. Just do it.
NaNoWriMo asked for writers to share advice with future writers. The best advice I can give you is do it. Just do it. Like Nike. We stress over whether the things we do will be good enough. Will people approve? Will people like our work? Will people like us? We worry that we're not smart enough or clever enough or just somehow not enough. All this fear can be paralyzing. So, sometimes, even though we love something, we don't do it.
If we never try, we cannot possibly fail. If we don't put our work (and by extension ourselves) out there, we can never be rejected or criticized. It makes us feel safe. But a life fully lived is not safe. To truly be passionate and amazing (and all of us can be) is to risk heartbreak, rejection and loss. The risks are great, true but the rewards are greater.
William G.T. Shedd said, "A ship is safe in harbor but that's not what ships are for." That's not what you are for either. Besides, even when we behave like control freaks, realistically, there's not all that much we actually can control in life except our attitudes and how we chose to react to things. That feeling of "safety" is sometimes an illusion.
Did you know that the baseball players with the highest number of home runs, also have the highest number of strikeouts? Why? Because you don't accomplish anything without at least taking a swing at it. Sometimes you're going to fail but sometimes you're going to hit it out of the park. You will never know which unless you try.
My father, who I adore, has spent his entire life with a critical voice in his head. It say things like "you can't" and "that's stupid" and "who do you think you are, anyway?" He's a talented artist who is afraid to make art because it might not be good enough. I love the man more than I can say but I don't want to be him. And I don't want you to be him.
If you love it, do it. If you want to do it, do it. Don't worry if it's good enough. Don't wait until you're older or out of school or working or working a different job. Don't wait until you have the right friends, the right relationship or the right degree. If you love it, do it. Do it right now and keep doing it. If you fail, so be it. Try it again. And again. And again. Falling down is not a problem; it's the not getting back up which is problematic. This is true for anything in life.
I wrote a novel during NaNoWriMo last year. I published it this year. Yes, I am now a published author. This has been my dream since I started writing when I was 15. I have lot of other stories in me. I will continue to write. My only possible regret is that I didn't do it sooner!
I'm not saying it may not be scary. It may be VERY scary. Do it anyway. Believe in your writing. Believe in yourself. Even when you're struggling to find your words or keep your life in balance or feeling sad, just keep writing.
While it's true that life presents obstacles, I've found that the biggest, most terrifying, most seemingly hard to get around, are the ones we put in front of ourselves. Get out of your own way. Write from your heart. Just do it.
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