Writing is hard. Admit it to yourself. You love the adventures in your mind, you love the thought of writing, and you love the satisfaction of getting something on paper. But, there's a catch. You actually have to get something on paper. Yikes. For the 99.9 percent of us, this is the struggle that we go through. We love to write, but most days, it's a serious chore to open up your laptop and actually start typing words. Even for the best of us, this is the deal. Sure, there is the 0.1 percent that just seem to effortlessly capture words on a page, but this isn't the reality for all of us. The life of a writer is a seriously hard one to live. If you don't understand exactly where I'm getting at with this, let me give you a few examples.
Exhibit A:
Today's the day. You are so ready. You've finally gained the confidence to write the first chapter of the book you've been preparing for months now. It's all in your head, beautiful and raw, and you just have to get it down. You open your laptop, you get your fingers ready, you take a deep breath, and...nothing. This overwhelming feeling of not knowing how to start this fabulous idea is taking over your brain. Suddenly, you're doubting yourself. It's not going to sound right coming from me. It's not ever going to be on paper like it is in my head. I'm not a good enough writer right now, I'll just wait until I learn more. And you stop. You want to write it, but you just can't.
This might be you all the time. Or this next example may sound more like you.
Exhibit B:
Finally. You actually have time to yourself. Your math homework is done, there are no more papers to improvise, and there are no tests to study for. Finally, there seems to be enough hours in the day for your favorite activity: writing for yourself. It's a rare occasion, and you can't waste it! You get out your writing journal, you sharpen those pencils and grab those pens, and...nothing. Jack. Squat. You have no ideas, no motivation, and no inspiration. There is a physical pain in just putting the pen to the blank page. You sigh and push it away. Maybe next time...
This, my friends, readers and writers alike, is the never-ending paradox of being a writer. What we want to do most is also the thing we want to do least. But you know what? It's worth it. Sure the process can be hell, and we will never ever stop complaining about it, but it's what we love to do. Pain and procrastination is our workplace. The worlds in our minds coming to life on paper is what we live for. There is no greater satisfaction for a writer than to see someone reading their work and experiencing what they themselves had experienced. Sure, it's not always rainbows and butterflies, but it's our way of expression. And if you ever doubt yourself or your writing habits, Alice Munro puts it this way: "It may not look like pleasure, because the difficulties can make me morose and distracted, but that's what it is—the pleasure of telling the story I mean to tell as wholly as I can tell it, of finding out in fact what the story is, by working around the different ways of telling it." This is writing. This is us. And it's okay. Just don't ever give up because there's always hope for us basket-cases.
So get off your phone, and go complain about writing because you know you're going to do it anyway!
