And Breathe

In Progress – Writing & Being A Writer.

Lately I have been taking a lot of “risks” when it comes to my writing; working on being a little louder, a little more outspoken, a little more raw and honest.. I have also been working hard. Writing a lot. Working on a lot of projects and trying to make a space that is just mine. Sometimes this means, I’ve been working a little too hard… Meaning, I sometimes cry when I can’t get writing done, when projects are not finished when I would ideally want them to be, when I can’t get the words out. There is something about being a creative, about being a writer, that lies so heavy on my bones; passion. I very often cannot sleep at night because I have so many ideas and so many things that I am obsessively working on because I want to, because I love to, because I want to earn and deserve my place as a writer… So, with all of that being said, here is what I’m working on while writing and being a writer.

  1. Being kind to myself while editing; not everything I write is trash. Not all of it is finished either and it doesn’t always need to be. I can always come back to it later and don’t need to feel bad about it.
  2. Feeling worthy. Worthy of other’s time, readership, loyalty, and yes, even money. This is a huge thing for me because I feel that a lot of writers are shamed for wanting to be able to make money from what they love (writing).
  3. Taking a break when I need one. (i.e. not feeling like if I miss a day of posting on Instagram, the blog, etc, I might die.)
  4. Asking for help. This doesn’t mean asking for extensions on projects all the time or anything like that. It means, letting people know that I need space, rest, and time, to be able to create beautiful (or ugly, because let’s be real, it’s not all sunshine and cupcakes) powerful, content.
  5. Self care is important. I hope that this being said everywhere lately helps it stick. Sometimes, I’m not sure that it does but I’m working on it. I know that It is so important to go for a walk, meditate, take my medication, eat, etc, but sometimes when I’m stuck in an idea, working on a project, that’s all I see, the project, and it’s probably not the best thing for me.
  6. Not everyone will find my words, magical or relatable or genius. That’s okay. I don’t need to allow those people to discourage me. My voice is mine and the important thing is to reach the people who needed that voice. That alone makes me happiest.

I hope that if your a writer or trying to be, that this resonates with you. If it did, let me know! I’d love to hear how you cope with some of the things writer’s deal with, feel, think, etc. As cliché as it is, life is a journey and we have to be willing to learn along the way, make changes, adjust, adapt, and become even better than we were the day before. I wish you all the luck!

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”
– Margaret Atwood