Don’t let “what ifs” drag you down
“I wish I would’ve started writing when I was in high school.”
“I wish I would’ve read more when I was younger.”
These and similar thoughts have gone through my mind many times since I started writing short stories several years ago.
Sure, it would be great to have thirty years of fiction experience and a few published novels at this point in my life, but I can’t turn back the calendar. If I live in the land of “if only” or “what if” it will only serve to stagnate my progress as a writer. I can’t let writing/reading inactivity in the past hold me back in the present or the future. I’ve gotta write today from where I am today as a writer.
There’s no shortcut to getting better as a writer. Whether I’m 16, 46, or 70, I have to read a lot, and write a lot. Then I have to revise a lot, and keep submitting stories.
“I wish I would’ve read more when I was younger.”
These and similar thoughts have gone through my mind many times since I started writing short stories several years ago.
Sure, it would be great to have thirty years of fiction experience and a few published novels at this point in my life, but I can’t turn back the calendar. If I live in the land of “if only” or “what if” it will only serve to stagnate my progress as a writer. I can’t let writing/reading inactivity in the past hold me back in the present or the future. I’ve gotta write today from where I am today as a writer.
There’s no shortcut to getting better as a writer. Whether I’m 16, 46, or 70, I have to read a lot, and write a lot. Then I have to revise a lot, and keep submitting stories.
posted by David Surrett at 8:37 PM
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