“I wish I could write! I hate writing my research papers. You must love that stuff.”
No, it’s not really the same thing.

“It’s cool that you’re taking that chance, I never could do that! That’s why I’m in business.”
Thanks for the confidence.

“You’re parents are okay with you being a writing major?”
It wasn’t their first choice for me.

“Are you going to write the next Harry Potter / Be the Next J.K. Rowling?”
Now I feel pressured to succeed in a way that’s rare. Thanks.

“You have it so easy!”
Cue the literal laughing out loud.

The Truth About Writing:

It’s rarely done with ease. It involves so much editing that I begin to forget how to spell words because suddenly that word just doesn’t look right. It involves constant rejection from not just the publishing world, but from yourself. Nothing is prefect, so when is something ready for submission?

Only other writers take writers seriously. I can already hear people stopping at that comment and thinking “that’s not true.” Let’s be honest- a majority of people visualize writer’s sipping coffee and crafting a prefect story that will be easily published.

In reality we stare at our computer and wonder about our life choices because nothing creative is happening. Or we stare at a piece we’ve written, originally believing it was a such a clever story, only to go back and scrap the whole thing because it made no sense. We search inside ourselves when we craft a story  and we leave a little bit of ourself with the story. It’s a bit soul-crushing.

The truth about writing is that it’s not the easiest craft to learn; to use, but all the same it’s worth it to put words on a page that touch another’s life.