Writing a book is fucking difficult. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Its not hard to come up with ideas and concepts and inspiration. that part is natural. the difficulty is actually admitting to yourself that you're ready to start, and the maturity to recognize when a section is finished. Its taxing on your time and patience and life, but it is a reality you can breathe life into when the one around you is crumbling, and a skill you can hone that allowed you to transmute your wildest dreams into the realms of the tangible and the relatable. It is far more than a cure for loneliness, it is the joy of actualizing the 3 pound universe that already exists behind your eyes but that you can never seem to articulate or understand completely through reflecting and conversing with other people. it demands dedication, but if you're willing to give it that then it will shape you into the creature you have always known you were, and more importantly, it will allow your vision to break free from the mold of abstractions and inexpressible leylines of doubt like the statue of David being broken free from a slab of marble. It is not a test of skill to write a book, but a test of willpower. because there will be a milion times when you'll read what you've written and say to yourself "its not good enough yet", then delete or edit days worth of work. I say again, its fucking difficult. But I've yet to find any earthly or heavenly joy that compares to the sensation of looking back on a competed work and acknowledging that it is up to the highest standard of what you are capable of. And then from there to have your previous standards smashed and re-established for the harder and more elaborate challenges of the future. My book is eating away at me sometimes, but I love every second of it, because not only does it force me to raise my personal bar of what I believe I'm capable of and then fucking reach for it, but there is literally nothing else that fills me with the same sense of accomplishment and pride as being able to articulate a good story. Period.
