At this point, I’m making peace with the fact that I might not actually “make it” as a writer, at least not the ways I always dreamed I would. But I like my writing and work more now than I ever have. I’ve spent 20 years at this point toiling at it and it’s something I still love (mostly). I’m learning to just be grateful for that. Thanks for highlighting this experience for us!
Honestly, I feel like you’ve already “made it” by the definition that really matters — you still got the flame going, you still got something to say, and you still love it! That means it’s meaningful and fuels you. Cheers man…I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing!
Hey Wes! Thanks so much for reading. Turning away from the thing you feel is rejecting you...I mean, you've described it perfectly. It's a really tough relationship with something you also feel nourishes and provides you meaning. Well, I read through your Substack, and you're a terrific writer, so I hope you're not too down on yourself. To answer your question, I did find some solace in "Mentor" by Tom Grimes—he was a teacher of mine at the time and reduced the high bar of writing down to a really simple mantra: "keep going." Like, even 100 words a day. Literally anything—per week even. Or just keeping ideas in your notes app. "Mentor" is a semi-autobiographical book and Tom writes about being a star student at Iowa and then basically plummeting into obscurity, so he really grapples with the question of failure as a writer in a way that seems to not get a lot of attention.
At this point, I’m making peace with the fact that I might not actually “make it” as a writer, at least not the ways I always dreamed I would. But I like my writing and work more now than I ever have. I’ve spent 20 years at this point toiling at it and it’s something I still love (mostly). I’m learning to just be grateful for that. Thanks for highlighting this experience for us!
Honestly, I feel like you’ve already “made it” by the definition that really matters — you still got the flame going, you still got something to say, and you still love it! That means it’s meaningful and fuels you. Cheers man…I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing!
Nice piece—looking forward to the novel! Hit me if you need someone to look at some pages for you.
Thanks so much Peter! I absolutely will keep that in mind!
Hey Wes! Thanks so much for reading. Turning away from the thing you feel is rejecting you...I mean, you've described it perfectly. It's a really tough relationship with something you also feel nourishes and provides you meaning. Well, I read through your Substack, and you're a terrific writer, so I hope you're not too down on yourself. To answer your question, I did find some solace in "Mentor" by Tom Grimes—he was a teacher of mine at the time and reduced the high bar of writing down to a really simple mantra: "keep going." Like, even 100 words a day. Literally anything—per week even. Or just keeping ideas in your notes app. "Mentor" is a semi-autobiographical book and Tom writes about being a star student at Iowa and then basically plummeting into obscurity, so he really grapples with the question of failure as a writer in a way that seems to not get a lot of attention.
Cheers man—best of luck with the writing.