Gentle truths and kind honesty for writers
💜 Because truth doesn’t have to be harsh and honesty doesn’t have to be brutal to be meaningful.
📢 Not everyone’s opinion matters
Don’t accept criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. You get to decide whose feedback is relevant and why. You do not have to explain or justify this to anyone. When you share things you create on the internet, whether you ask for feedback or not, you’ll probably get it. And you are allowed to consider the source of that feedback and decide whether it’s helpful or better off ignored. This also applies to writing tips, advice, rules etc. Learn from people whose writing you respect and enjoy, and whose approach to teaching aligns with your approach to learning.
🤷♀️ Some people will love what you do, some people will hate it, and most people won’t care
Not everyone is your audience and that’s OK. If someone doesn’t enjoy what you do, they’re someone else’s audience. Also, it’s highly unlikely that everyone, or even the majority of people, who encounter any creative work will have a strong opinion on it in either direction. I don’t know about you, but I find that comforting.
👀 Write for the audience you want, not the audience you’re scared of
Nothing is for everyone and it doesn’t have to be. You are under no obligation to impress some (usually hypothetical) rando who isn’t into what you create. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by stress in a world, and on an internet, where so many people view putting others down as the best way to seem like an authority, but those people most likely aren’t worth your time and energy. Write for the people who share your excitement about your genre, for example. They’re your people.
📝 Improvement comes from doing
Yes, it’s useful to absorb information and education, and it’s helpful to learn about how other people approach their writing. But it’s also necessary to actually write, to put what you learn into practice, to allow yourself to make mistakes and to fix them as you grow. It’s OK to be at the beginning of your journey. It’s OK not to feel amazing about what you create all the time. But you WILL get better with practice, and part of this process is to allow yourself to experiment. Try taking off some of the pressure and explore how you might flourish.
🧘♀️ It’s good to challenge yourself, but your comfort zone is not a bad place
I’ve written in genres I don’t naturally gravitate towards. I’ve written a series because I’d already tried writing short stories, novellas and novels. I’ve written for specific platforms even though their demographic wasn’t who I would usually write for. In trying things that pushed me, I found my voice and I learned to recognise when I was on the right track compared to when I wasn’t. Now I write what I love with joy and confidence because I actually know what that is and am open to it evolving authentically. So while it’s great to get outside of your comfort zone and learn from that, it’s also OK to settle into writing the genres, styles, kinds of character, or length of story you love if that’s genuinely what you vibe with.
📖 You don’t have to label yourself as a [whatever] writer
I’m not talking about publishing and marketing here. That’s a whole ‘nother thing. I’m talking about you, personally, finding fulfilment in variety if that’s how it goes. You are under no obligation to give up on exploration and excitement in your writing just to be able to say “I write [only this thing]”. Not everyone is a [whatever] writer. You might have themes that you come back to, or you might not. You might prefer one genre but also enjoy others, or you might not. And it’s all good. It’s alright to be a writer without having a label beyond that.
📅 You do not have to write every day
You can if you want to. But you don’t have to. No matter what job, hobby, or anything in between a person might have, it’s perfectly fine (and healthy and positive) to take breaks, have days off, set it aside, recharge and refill and come back to it. If you doubt that, replace 'writer’ with some other thing people do and see if it sounds ridiculous. You’re not a real surgeon unless you work seven days a week. You’re not a real windsurfer or gardener or cheesemaker unless you’re doing the thing literally every single day. Bizarre, right?
🥰 I hope this post finds its way to the eyes of people who need it. Wishing you all the creative joy on your writing journey!
annaxmalina
turnnoffyourmind
jacobvanloon
titsay
prguitarman
