So, you're part of the Odyssey team, or a future prospect. Either way, you'll end up writing your first article sooner or later. It can and should be incredibly exciting, right? But once you put fingers to keyboard and put that fresh mind to work, you realize a few things before, during, and after the process.

1. Wait...is this topic actually good enough for my first piece?

You've seen quite a few Odyssey articles and listicles in your lifetime, and you know what kind of topics have already been used and abused. But you wanted to make sure this first one would be extra special and extra different, right? You've put a lot of thought into this one. But suddenly an hour into this and you realize it might be too personal, or boring, or fluffy.

2. I'm only 212 words in?/I've already written 986 words?

No matter what, you will not match the number of words you thought you were going to write. It takes a looottt of editing (or a lot of space filling) every time.

3. I should probably ask my chief editor, for the third time, when my article will be published.

You just wanna make absolutely sure that you know when your article is gonna be up. You keep frantically checking your admin page every ten minutes to see what editing stage it's at. But it's completely normal to want to know this badly, right? You don't want to pester him/her, but the wait is killing you.

4. Should I show my parents/relatives this?

This is a millenial centric article database, and, depending on your family's views, some topics on here may seem offensive, controversial, or inappropriate to them. You know that once you share it, anyone can see it. It's not like your first article is discussing incest, but you don't wanna have to stick to the lighthearted fluffy stuff every time just to please your relatives.

5. I only have six shares?/ I already have 170 shares??

You didn't really know what to expect when you finally published your article. Don't be afraid to admit that you hoped it would become viral- everyone does. If it does? Fantastic! But that doesn't mean every article of yours will. If not? don't let it deter you. You'd like those $20 bucks, but that's not the motivation for your writing. Remember, shares do not equal views. Eight shares could mean 65 views!

6. When am I gonna start running out of ideas??

You just finished your first masterpiece, but you realize that there will come a time when you've used up all the good ideas you had. Oh god, what's next? Does this mean I'll end up making a listicle with 80 words and too many gifs? Should I quit the Odyssey and go into hiding? Should I copy some obscure Buzzfeed article?? Nah, good ideas will always show up in time. You got this, so go write some more articles!