ABOUT
I'm guided by this advice:
[1] keep plodding along, [2] don't publish too soon, [3] be mind-full.
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Many will tell you writing isn't easy. It's true, but I'm not sure it matters. Easy is not why we write. We write for many reasons, personal reasons. I write to communicate and connect, to get outside my skin, to nest in unacceptable feelings. Easy has nothing to do with it. If it were easy, it would not tear me apart, push me, give me an escape, make the world bigger. Find your reasons. Hold onto them.
[1]
Writing is a muscle. It takes practice, presence, and diligence. The more time I spend with words, the more natural it feels. The greatest thing I can do for my craft is give it space and keep showing up to work at it.
[2]
It takes time to hone what I write into what I see. Most likely, it will never get there. Drafting, editing, scrapping, researching, filling up the creative well, writing, writing, writing. Over time, I get close. I know once I share, there's no calling the story back. It leaves my hands, it becomes a part of someone else. I try not to rush this process, to be sure the story is ready to stand alone. This time, where the story is only mine, is sacred.
[3]
Recently, I had to relearn that creating takes heart. Writing continuously, honoring stories, growing skills, it requests a separation from the ego. It feels more like water. Like breathing all the way in. Flowing with a story, hitting snags, letting things be. It's not about perfection. It's not about easy. It's doing and lungs and believing. It's keeping going, even when everything breaks.