Celebrate the writer you're becoming.
Enjoy today's brief post, then leave a comment to join this dialogue. And don’t forget to keep scrolling to check out today’s writing prompt. [From the Archive.]
It’s easy to keep count of all the typos and errors you make when you write. But it’s much harder to remember all the beautiful sentences and passages you create— sentences and passages that can and do inspire you and others every single day. Especially once they’re out in the world with a life all their own for others to encounter and grapple with long after you wrote them down, long after you’re gone.
So, you must celebrate those beautiful words you do manage to string together from time to time, that make up a body of work you’re proud of creating, because you owe it to the writer you are, as well as the writer you are becoming. And possibly to the world and all the people in it, as well as all the writers after you and before you, who you’ll leave behind one day with your written words.
You must celebrate the roughest drafts of your writing, as they are the maps leading you to the writer you are becoming. They hold the compass rose, scale, legend, and True North of your writing, and will lead you to unearthed literary treasures that are still buried deep within you, ready to be plundered— if you’re paying attention, and ready for a bit of adventure, that is.
You must celebrate the words you write that come undone before your very eyes and offer yourself a bit of compassion. Remember that language is within you, but is also much larger than you, and equally belongs to others with and without like-minded passions. And the harder you try to tackle and control it, the more it will control you. So, let your words run freely with abandon. Don’t try to keep them in a cage, where they will only rebel, or worse, desiccate.
You must celebrate the mystery and magic of what you write, like a challenge you are willing and eager to meet every day no matter what happens. Learn the spells your writing casts. Because, as the writerly proverbs go: If there are no tears in the writer, there will be no tears in the reader. And the only work worth doing is the type that makes you sweat… or something like that.
Whether you’re a novice writer or have been writing for decades, you are still becoming the writer you were always meant to be. And you owe it to that writer to highlight those passages you’ve written and loved, as well as all those passages from which you, as well as your craft, have learned and evolved.
Don’t forget to be your own biggest fan, your own avid reader, and permit yourself some grace. Without errors and mistakes, there would be no master works to enjoy. And there would be no you to write them in only the way that you can do, in your own particular way, in your own unique voice.
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Today’s Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt: Free Write, History
Set a timer for ten minutes. Once you start the timer, start free writing about what history is, why it's important to learn, and what it means to you. Write about whatever comes to your mind as soon as it comes to your mind, and don't overthink what you're writing about. Don't stop writing until the timer goes off. And feel free to repeat this free writing exercise for any topic in the future, especially when you find yourself stuck or needing a bit of creative inspiration.
Be sure to share what you write for any of the daily writing prompts in a subscriber chat thread so we can read and discuss what you wrote.
