Thank you for a great article. I identify with a fear of failing - if I don’t start then no one can see it. My brain tells me to stay small and don’t cause a fuss.
Then I think, well maybe I’m not supposed to be a writer after all, if I can’t even start for fear of what imaginary people might think about me, maybe it’s best not to find out. And yet...I’m pulled to do it.
100% relatable. Sometimes I wonder if it’s more reluctance to finish a writing project I’m actually enjoying and thus, let go of, versus procrastination. It’s as if I want to savor it forever. Accountability, as you suggest, is a good solution!
Such a great post - Chandler's 'this or nothing' approach is something I'm going to adopt IMMEDIATELY, and not just for my designated writing time! Thanks, Cali!
Great article. I seem to have an issue with promoting my work, rather than writing it. I've made many sacrifices to put writing first and have no problem that I have done so. It's interfacing with the world, that stalls me.
Charles Bukowski spent equal time writing and promoting his work. Both are necessary. I wrote a book in 2012 and self-published it in 2013. I took it down in 2015 or 2016 because I wanted to edit it. I never edited it. In 2019 three copies of the used book were selling on Amazon for $1479 with a $25 shipping fee. I had charged $18. One used copy is currently available for $69. Someone else made good money off of my writing.
There are lots of Substack blogs being written about how the competition to be a paid writer is stiff these days. They write in detail about very few of us are able to live off what is available to be made by writing and selling our writing.
I write because I have to write. I don't know whether my writing will be of value to others. Those sacrifices I've made most others wouldn't dream of and could care less to learn about. I do know there are things I've learned in my life that have made my life worth living and truly embracing. But that's me. The idea of promoting and selling makes me crazy, but writing to release my thoughts and get them down in one place, is a joy to me.
Thank you for a great article. I identify with a fear of failing - if I don’t start then no one can see it. My brain tells me to stay small and don’t cause a fuss.
Then I think, well maybe I’m not supposed to be a writer after all, if I can’t even start for fear of what imaginary people might think about me, maybe it’s best not to find out. And yet...I’m pulled to do it.
100% relatable. Sometimes I wonder if it’s more reluctance to finish a writing project I’m actually enjoying and thus, let go of, versus procrastination. It’s as if I want to savor it forever. Accountability, as you suggest, is a good solution!
Such a great post - Chandler's 'this or nothing' approach is something I'm going to adopt IMMEDIATELY, and not just for my designated writing time! Thanks, Cali!
This is me! I love the The Raymond Chandler method - I think I'll give this a go! Thank you
Great article. I seem to have an issue with promoting my work, rather than writing it. I've made many sacrifices to put writing first and have no problem that I have done so. It's interfacing with the world, that stalls me.
Charles Bukowski spent equal time writing and promoting his work. Both are necessary. I wrote a book in 2012 and self-published it in 2013. I took it down in 2015 or 2016 because I wanted to edit it. I never edited it. In 2019 three copies of the used book were selling on Amazon for $1479 with a $25 shipping fee. I had charged $18. One used copy is currently available for $69. Someone else made good money off of my writing.
There are lots of Substack blogs being written about how the competition to be a paid writer is stiff these days. They write in detail about very few of us are able to live off what is available to be made by writing and selling our writing.
I write because I have to write. I don't know whether my writing will be of value to others. Those sacrifices I've made most others wouldn't dream of and could care less to learn about. I do know there are things I've learned in my life that have made my life worth living and truly embracing. But that's me. The idea of promoting and selling makes me crazy, but writing to release my thoughts and get them down in one place, is a joy to me.