Night owl or early riser. 15 minute writing sprints or an hour or two of straight writing. Never taking a day off to get crap done or having a restful weekend every weekend.
There’s no “right way” to get words on the page. As long as you’re moving forward, pushing towards what you want and you’re happy with your work and process, that’s what matters.
Comparison is the thief of joy and contentment. It’s the robber of self assurance and confidence in you and your work. Comparison and imposter syndrome is a real life struggle of creatives, and it’s a pain in the ass to combat, especially because of our life on social media. We have to be on social media for various reasons, be that self promotion, connecting with our readers, finding writer friends and critique partners, or learning from agents and published authors. But what we can do is uphold a mindset of excitement for those who are on a different part of their journey and support them, while we do our work to get where we need to be.
My writing process looks different from that of my friends. I tend to stay up late, but I’d rather be an early riser before my kids and husband start their days. My days go better that way. I like sprints when I need to get a lot of words in throughout the day, and I try to write in between lunches, diaper changes, cleaning, and independent play time. But I also love to sit for an hour or two straight getting a chapter full written and beautified. As we speak, I’m writing while riding a bike at my local YMCA, getting words in while my kids socialize and I get some anger and impatience out through sprints on my bike.
I edit as I write, especially with my novel. I think for me I have to because otherwise I’ll forget the idea I wanted to change back in Act 1 though I’m writing Act 3, and then I’ll find inconsistencies and I’ll get confused. I’m a better writer when I edit as I draft. I love revising too. Drafting is really hard work for me, as it is for everyone. But I really love getting in those more descriptive details, fixing where I show and not tell, using thesaurus.com, and just really shining with my prose. It makes my heart sing.
So it’s okay to be different, to figure out what makes you tick with writing, what motivates and spurs you on.
I’m of the impression that if you’re moving forward at YOUR pace and timeline, you’re doing amazing. Take breaks. For a day, a week, whatever. But get back at it. No one will write your story for you. Look up at other people in support and to learn from them, but not to compare. Not to berate yourself because your journey is different and wonky and twisty turny with both setbacks and huge wins. And your wins and your setbacks will differ from others.’ You’re learning, you’re becoming , and that’s exactly where you should be. No matter how many accomplishments you get, no matter how many milestones you hit.
You’re okay. And you’re doing the damn thing.
