From one [writer] to another:

Hey there, writers.

The reason I'm posting this news article is because over the past few months I've learned some valuable lessons about what it means to be a writer – lessons that I'd like to share with all of you.

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The story begins with my sister's birthday; I wrote a poem for her present. She loved it, and so did I. Little did I know that it would be the last thing I would write for the next three months.

Seriously, I just stopped writing for a full quarter of a year. And that's way too long. So why did I stop writing? I was too busy. I got caught up in school assignments, extracurriculars and everything else that wreaks havoc on my conscience. I never found quite enough time for myself to sit and write. Some friends told me I had writer's block, but I don't think so I did. I had ideas. I just never put them down on paper.

Those ideas are gone now. I can't remember them now and I probably never will.


I gradually realized how much I missed writing, but by that time it was too late. All I had at that point was a bitter desire to write, an empty mind and some scraps that I had written before that part of my life disappeared. I actually forced myself to write again in order to participate in a deviantART contest. It gave me the spark of inspiration that I was counting on to develop my ideas into the embers of creativity I once had.


Just because I know you're desperately worried that I never successfully wrote anything artistic again and that's the end of that, I did succeed in writing a piece for this contest. I did. But the writing process was absolutely brutal. I ended up with a headache and a major sense of failure. I have never struggled so much with writing. Ever. With all honesty, it's only thanks to my close friends here on deviantART that I pulled through at all.


As I wrote in the description of my contest entry, "I still feel like a failure. Writing used to be so easy. Hopefully I can get that back." I still haven't. I'm still fighting with myself to take time to write, and it still feels much more awkward than it used to. But I'm making an effort. In the two months since that entry, I've posted one other piece since that entry and I'm just finishing editing another.

But still, two in two months, that's nowhere near what my writing used to be. Why is it so hard? Quite simply, I think it's because I'm out of practice. I haven't written in so long; I've lost the skills. Maybe some of you don't think three months is that long and I'm just pathetic, but trust me: it feels like forever.


And this is the main lesson I learned that I'd like to share. Don't give up on your writing, no matter what it takes. Even if what you're writing seems like rubbish, it's better than not writing at all. It doesn't matter how busy you get, or how tired you are. Persevere and you won't regret it. I can tell you it does not feel good to become alienated from what you used to love.

You are all artists. Never forget that. A friend of mine once responded to the question, "Is anybody here an artist?" with "No, sorry. I'm a writer." Don't be like that. Recognize your writing for the beautiful, artistic creation that it is.

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Thanks for reading. I hope I've shared a bit on what it's like to feel like a failure as a writer, and how to avoid it. If I can prevent any of you from going through what I'm dealing with, I'll consider this news article worthwhile.