5 Sad Signs You’re Only in Love With the Idea of Becoming A Writer
It all boils down to one thing.
The idea of becoming a writer is awesome, right?
That’s why after becoming a pilot, becoming a writer is the second-most sought-after profession. Sitting in cafés, watching people, drinking a nice Cappuccino, writing something, all to earn your living like that. That’s the dream, isn’t it?
However, as Thanos puts it: “Reality is often disappointing.” Because writing isn’t all pleasant and easy. It’s hard. Trust me, I can tell. As I’m earning my living, writing online.
To get your head straight, check if you’re only in love with the idea of becoming a writer. Here are 5 sad signs you should look out for:
You find no pleasure in writing itself
If you feel like that, save yourself time, and stop what you’re doing.
If you only write to become a writer, you betray yourself. Because to become a writer, you need to appreciate the art of writing.
It doesn’t mean writing is supposed to be easy. Because it’s not.
Writing feels like getting thrown into cold, cold water. Without wearing a nice and warm wetsuit.
It’s one of the most difficult things to sit down, get first your head, and then your words straight. You need to put in effort.
Over and over again.
Ask successful writers like Nicolas Cole and Ayodeji Awosika. Just like a workout, writing will make you sweat to progress. It’s an amazing way to improve your life. But it’s hard.
That’s why you should love writing to become a writer.
You avoid constructive feedback
This problem stretches further than only writing.
Constructive feedback is the best way to improve. It’s literally other people telling you WHAT to do better.
But you have to embrace it to become a writer.
Nicolas Cole makes an important distinction between two types of writers:
- legacy writers
- online writers
Legacy writers go to their cabin in the woods, write, and come back with their next book.
However, online writers write, publish, check the feedback, improve, and repeat.
Guess, who’s more successful?
Online writers are. Not because they are better writers in general, but because they don’t shy away from putting themselves out there, getting feedback, and acting on it.
That’s what they do in tech, too.
To improve as fast as possible, you need to fail as fast as possible.
For writers, it involves having the guts to put yourself out there. No excuses. And of course, that’s hard.
But constructive feedback is your friend, not your enemy.
You fear failure
Don’t become a writer if you fear failing.
Because failing, and people not looking at your articles, is an essential part of becoming a writer. No matter how accomplished of a writer you are.
First: fear of failure is never a valid point to not start something.
Because we all fear failing in some way. But this vulnerability isn’t bad. It makes us human.
When it comes to writing, a fear of failure is a symptom of the first point: you find no pleasure in writing itself.
Why? Because the sole process of writing would give you the pleasure you need to enjoy doing what you do. There’s no failing if you keep writing.
Besides, there’s no way around failure on your way to becoming a writer:
- You’ll pour your heart into articles, no one ever reads.
- You’ll struggle to express yourself.
- You’ll ask yourself what you’re doing.
- You’ll find yourself in a position, where others can’t understand what you’re doing.
Fearing failure is a surefire way to quit writing. Because it’s part of the game. Even writers like Stephen King were rejected 30 times before their books found a home. Failure isn’t an option, it’s an obligation to become a better writer.
Failure is always a crucial part of success.
You can’t commit
I know you don’t want to hear it, but:
“Consistency beats brilliancy. Every. Single. Time.”
And consistency comes from commitment. From your ability to say: “Screw it, I’ll do it anyway.”
Why?
Because writing is a (slow) process. It takes time.
You need to be patient. To improve, but also to see results:
- Tim Denning wrote for three years without getting a single penny
- Ayodeji Awosika wrote for more than a year before he hit 5-figures
- Zulie Rane wrote more than 383 articles before she gained any traction
That’s a lot of commitment right there. And what they all say is:
You need to suck at first, keep writing, and improve to get where you want. It’s supposed to be like that.
The same goes for getting in shape. There’s no quick fix. No beat the system. And no shortcut.
There’s only you and your commitment.
Commitment is what you need.
You can’t handle rejection
Rejection is part of the game, too.
It’s inevitable. Just like Thanos. You can’t become better without someone telling you that what you do, isn’t enough (yet).
I’ve been guilty of that for a long time. I feared rejection.
Not only in writing but in life.
I got rejected by many publications and possible clients before. Although, I had high hopes. Not to mention the clients, I never got an answer from.
It wasn’t easy.
But at some point, I realized: rejection isn’t negative.
If you look at it from the right angle, it’s even advantageous:
- it saves you time because otherwise you’d spend time doing something that wouldn’t satisfy the other side
- it tests, how committed you are to what you do
- in the best case, it even provides feedback on where you need to improve
Rejection is an essential part of becoming a writer. It has the power to guide you in the right direction if you let it. Don’t be afraid of it.
See rejection for what it is: a chance to become better.
Being a writer isn’t all Latte’s, big bank accounts, and writing retreats. It’s hard but rewarding. If you want to become one:
- find pleasure in writing itself
- seek constructive feedback
- embrace failure
- commit yourself to writing
- see rejection as a chance
Thanks for reading.
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