Are you a writer? If so, here’s a little pep talk for writers – a pep talk for you!
Here’s a question for all you writers out there: Have you ever written a post or article that you’re fairly certain will never see the light of day?
You well remember that day when inspiration struck and you attacked your keyboard with a vengeance and spit those words right out. It was a masterpiece – a chef-d’ลuvre! Then you started thinking about it and the questions began to bombard your mind.
Am I really a writer? Will people think it’s stupid? Is it stupid? Am I stupid? Will anyone read it? Will they get it? Comment? Leave mean, spiteful retorts? Ignore it? Is it boring? Am I boring? Is my entire blog boring?
Is it relevant?Am I relevant? Am I cool? Hip? Old school? Trendy? Old fashioned? Hip Hop? Forget the hip hop, that just popped out of nowhere on its own.
You get the drift.
Do you ever second guess yourself? ย Let’s get one thing straight: ย Are you a writer? If you write, you are a writer. You’re not aspiring to be a writer. You can aspire to be a better writer.
Many of my “you’ll never see the light of day” posts have actually been some of my best work ever. Surprise, surprise!
Maybe it doesn’t go viral. Maybe it’s not what you consider your very best work. So what? What if it just helps one person? The more you write, the better you become at writing.
You’re gifted. You’re unique. There’s not another person on the face of the earth who does what YOU do, the way YOU do it.
Think about the late, great Walt Disney! Disney takes in billions, but Walt had a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He had a list of failures, including bankruptcy, but it never stopped him. He never gave up.
Harrison Ford was told he didn’t have what it takes to be a star.
Dr. Seuss’s first book was rejected 27 times! ย
Stephen Spielberg was rejected from USC School of Theater, Film and Television 3 times.
Jack London, the well-known author of The Call of the Wild ,ย received 600 rejections before his first book was published.
Go ahead, polish that piece up and get it published – either on your blog or submit it to that place you’ve been dreaming about. You’ve got this! And if you get rejected? ย Big deal. If at first you don’t succeed . .
If you’re a writer, keep writing. Maybe you’re not a writer. Find what you love to do and do it with all your might. Remember what Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
It’s confession time! Have you written a post or article that will probably never see the light of day? Why?
22 comments
Inspiration is a great way to start the week. Thanks for this. I like the Confucius quote the best.
Point on Alli! I know I need to better my writing but I have had many posts that I wrote when inspiration hit but then never published them. I felt they were not good enough. Self doubt is a real struggle at times. So thanks for the inspiration and for all those great examples of successful people you mentioned. I had no idea that they faced such struggles before rising to the top.
What a great pep talk, sometimes it’s hard to get out of your own way and just write ๐
This is a great post, Alli! Writing can definitely be challenging at times and I have always found the first paragraph to be the most difficult! Usually, once I get going, the rest proceeds smoothly!
Love this! So great, and I’m sure will help so many people! I wish I could sometimes just sit and write, and not have to build myself up. sometimes its hard!
This is awesome motivation! I didn’t know those famous creative minds struggled in the beginning! I’m glad they pushed through it!
I am always inspired every week but most dont make it to publish but the ones I do always get so much more engagement. Thanks for the pep talk. I just need to keep it up.
What a great post. I think we can be our own worst critics and it’s hard to not get down on ourselves about our writing. This was needed.
Great pep talk. Find what you do and do it. The biggest hurdle is to irst need to believing in ourselves. Just enjoy. Thanks Alli
What an awesome and inspiring post. I needed to see this as I have another book idea in mind that is itching for me to find time to write it. I’m going to make that happen! ๐
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
I needed some inspiration today. There are so many great bloggers out there it is easy to be intimidated. But you are right there is no one quite like me, with my experiences and point of view.
These are all great tips and a great pep talk to give yourself if you’re stuck in a writing rut! Great post!!
I love this! These are great tips and so great for when you have writers block, etc! Great post!
Great post. I’m always second guessing myself and know I need to stop doing that.
When I think about all of the great men and women who are now successful and how much ‘failure and rejection’ they must have seen or got but still pushed on it makes me more determined to forge ahead. Lovely pep talk
Thank you for the inspiration! There is nothing worse than struggling to find something to write about or the confidence to produce it.
Such a great motivational post! I definitely am sometimes my own worst enemy when it comes to writing. I need to just start having confidence in myself and just go for it.
I tend to overthink things sometimes and have plenty of doubts but I always hit publish anyway. You never know what people will really relate too so you might as well put it out there!
This post is great motivation for fellow bloggers. I love the mindset approach you mention about realizing that although your post might not go viral if it impacts and helps even one person it’s still worth it.
Starting out I didn’t consider myself a writer. I needed to condition my mind to believe what was true. I am a writer, I write several days a week. I am a writer, a great writer at that. Now I can boldly own it, not sure what took me so long.
What a great pep talk and this is great inspiration!! Sometimes itโs hard to get out of your own way.
I have a great read on your article. I’m not a writer too but somehow these inspires me to write better in the future. Thanks for the inspiration!