If You Want to Be a Great Writer, Put Writing on Hold For Awhile

“Good writing saves nothing. On the other hand, a deep, compelling message can float writers who struggle to even complete a sentence.”

The way we measure writing is fascinating to me. Everyone cares about hitting word counts, getting accepted into publications, and having more email subscribers than their peers.

But what really draws you to a great piece of writing?

If you’re anything like me, it’s the message that the author is able to communicate. Something that makes you stop and re-read the same sentence twice. The type of writing that inspires you to jump up and put pen to paper because it evoked an emotion or creative thought. When you can almost hear the writer’s thoughts through their words and feel the same pain, joy, or confusion they felt. That’s what we should all strive for.

It’s not always about the accessory details writers tend to discuss. What people really care about is that you have something meaningful to say. The first article I ever published in public wasn’t written because I wanted someone to think of me as a “writer”. It was because I had something I couldn’t not say. And after that, I received tons of bad writing advice telling me that if I didn’t write daily then I would fail. If I didn’t put money towards writing courses then I would fail. If I didn’t respond to every comment then I would fail.

Guess what? I didn’t do any of that. I have gone over a month without publishing anything. Sometimes more. Life tends to hit us in ebbs and flows, and stressing out over how much content we are producing doesn’t make us better writers.

Because the truth is, writing is the easy part. Anyone can assemble words into sentences and push it out into the world. Getting someone to actually care about what you are saying is where the magic happens.

If I’ve learned anything about succeeding in this cutthroat profession, it’s this; Before obsessing over the act of writing, try to dig a little deeper and understand why you’re doing it in the first place.

Is it for money? Recognition? Passion? A need to get the ideas out of your head and formed into coherent sentences? Whatever your reason is, make sure you have one — it’s what makes you interesting. Once you understand this, the physical act of writing becomes less important. You won’t need to spend hours searching for the words. You’ll already know what to say. And the best way to do this is to put writing on hold for a while.

Go do something interesting. Make yourself a little uncomfortable. Venture into a remote part of nature. These things will give you perspective. Writing in itself didn’t shape my voice. It was randomly joining a new sports team that I knew nothing about. It was moving across the country for a job during a global pandemic. It was flying to California after graduating with less than $100 in my bank account and setting off on a journey of financial enlightenment. It was walking out of an interview at Google. After all that and more, I have a story to tell and the inspiration to see it through to the end.

So really think about why you want to write. Knowing this answer is when your journey as a writer really begins.