I stumbled across this post today about 10 points on writing (non-obvious points).
Points five, six, and seven were my favorite:
5. Becoming a writer is easy. Quitting is even easier. Professional (vocational) writers don’t write because they love it — they write because they are called. Sometimes, if they are lucky and super-blessed, they will also love it too. But, that’s apparently rare.
6. Honest writing is honestly hard, mostly because we’re literally in the process of self-discovery as the words flow out of us. It’s quite natural to write something only to realize that you vehemently disagree with the very thing that’s still (digitally) drying on your notepad. Sometimes, I’m so disgusted with what I just wrote that I literally have to get out of my chair and walk away! Writing forces us to commit to a side; sometimes, it requires us to think deeply and even defend it.
7. Your writing is shit. It’ll be shit for a long time. Heck, it’ll be shit forever. Everyone’s writing is shit. Mine is the best shit ever. We’re all writing things that, if not today will eventually embarrass us mercilessly tomorrow. Who cares, keep going.
Good stuff.
I feel like I am all over the place right now on what I think about writing.
Writing, for me, started as something tangent that grew out of reading. It became an infrequent hobby at some point. And then a daily habit.
When I write I often feel such a respect for capturing my thoughts in this systematic way.
Other days, what I write feels like I am shoveling dog poo in the back yard…
All I know for sure is that I will NEVER stop.
I want the writing life.