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Romy Lara's avatar

The question about "Are you staying together just for the kids?" really made me stop and think (I'm not even married or have kids IRL but boy did it shake me hahaha). It prompted me to -you guessed it- write about and be honest with myself. My writing and my relationship with the craft has changed. I'm still thinking about what I was able to do when I was younger and had lots of time and less responsibilities, when I could devote hours upon hours and writing came easy. It's not like that anymore, but that doesn't mean I want to stop.

Lift the burden of expectations, hoping my writing comes like it used to. Writing is different because I'm different. We might need to go to marriage counseling but I'm willing to make it work.

Thanks for the post!! Have a nice day. ❤️

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Diana M. Wilson's avatar

As I embark on my annual "Swedish Death Cleaning" ritual--now that my manuscript is done in a way that ultimately DID bring me joy, I've been thinking a lot about this fabulous essay...And here are a couple of my reflections..

When the story isn't going the way the CHARACTERS want it to (that may only mean something to me?), and you recognize something is "off"--as in the storyline needs to pivot, but you keep going anyway, the writing feels...."wrong"--and it's tedious...and frustrating...and for me, that tells me I need to stop and reflect before I write another word. (It only took me a decade to figure that out.)

But the other thing is that writing is like running a marathon (which I've done)--and by mile 17 you hate every single thing about running--you think that signing up for the marathon was the worst decision you've ever made...but the minute you cross that finish line--all those doubts--all that pain--is something you don't remember as ever having existed...and if you can focus on the fact that you've created something YOU are proud of (irrespective of any wished for outcome)--that's where I think that ultimately, the joy exists.

A huge thanks to YOU for helping me cross the finish line....💙💙💙

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