Should I Quit Writing?

We Have ALL Been There

For many of us, writing is a love-hate relationship. One minute we love what we do, and the next, we want to throw our hands up and walk away completely. I have been there many times in my writing life and recently contemplated quitting again during the pandemic.

With all that was happening around us, I felt that my writing was meaningless, and the words that used to fly onto the screen every day weren't happening. Another aspect that has made me want to quit in the past is that I'm still not very successful at writing in terms of dollars that I would like to be. I've spent far too much time writing for too little compensation that it burned me out on far too many occasions.

Thankfully, I now write monthly sleep apnea columns on WebMD and Health Union sites, putting a little money in my pocket. The irony of those jobs is I didn't look for them. They found me. It came about from a simple sleep apnea article on Medium.

Despite whatever issues I may have, I always return to writing as it's what I love to do. It's something that is a part of me and always will be a part of me. Here are a few things to do if you want to quit your writing career.

Take a Break

It's important o take periodic breaks from writing. You can write every day, but you may find that you burnout. I've experienced burnout quite a few times. This was mostly caused by writing far too much each day on low-paying sites.

My ability to create great content was hampered by the amount of work I had to do. The amount of writing I was doing wasn't sustainable, and I quickly found my mind drawing blanks on many subjects because I was overwhelmed.

Don't be afraid to take a step back and allow yourself some time off from writing, as a fresh mind can do wonders for your creativity and mental health.

Do More than Write

Focusing on only writing is excellent, but do other things as well. For me, that's playing guitars and recently gardening. We need different things in our life besides writing. Sitting there and banging out words can't be the only thing you do, or you'll hate it.

I spent far too much time writing and not doing anything else. I was solely focused on putting words on the paper and didn't want to get out of my chair. I focused far too much on writing, which led to my burnout.

Your Success Can Vary

Some people come to a site such as Medium and immediately see huge success. For others, this takes a long, long time. Some can create a blog, and it takes off, while yous might struggle for years. You can write books that go nowhere while someone else makes thousands on their first attempt.

This lack of income can be incredibly frustrating because it's not like a regular job where you're guaranteed an income each day. In many cases, you can't measure writing success in days, weeks, or even years.

It isn't easy to compare your writing to someone else and figure that you'll have the same success that they have, as it usually doesn't work that way. The main thing you can do to see real success is to keep writing even when it seems bleak.

If you quit, you'll never know what you might have accomplished had you written for a bit longer. For example, if I never wrote my sleep apnea article, I wouldn't have my two health writing gigs today.

Write on Different Topics

My main writing focus for a long time was music, product reviews, and guitar playing. I got tired of writing this content for websites as it was all I knew. I got paid for it, but the work started to drag me down. I needed to write about different subjects and explore my writing more.

Sometimes the change of perspective can freshen up your writing and give you a new incentive to write again. For me, it was writing about my sleep apnea health issue. This allowed me to talk about my condition and share my experiences with other people. This was a rewarding way to write for me.

If your writing is stagnant and you feel like quitting, try writing about new things. this may give you that extra boost and rekindle your writing passion again.

Keep Learning

There's always something new you can learn about writing. Dive into the knowledge and see where it takes you. Try new forms of writing like technical writing or try a novel. You may find that this is your area of strength. Write about your life experiences, write about anything, keep writing. Take the good with the bad and always learn.

Summary

Writing is a lifelong pursuit. It's important to never give up. I know I've wanted to quit many times but always come back to putting words on the screen or page. Make sure you take breaks and try new things. You never know where your writing may take you. This endeavor may take a lot of time, or you may see success in a short amount of time. One never knows.

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