Accepting That No One Will Ever Read Your Story
Did I set the right header image?
Should I format this piece nicely so it might dazzle someone?
Some quotes. Maybe this would make more sense if someone’s tweet weighed in on this?
Will anyone ever get the point on what I’m writing?
Maybe I should start with a famous quote, or the definition of a word.
Is this piece too long for anyone to care?
Too short, need more words!
Typos, should I be posting this with all these typos popping from nowhere?
Acceptance
At some point, I may have asked myself one of the questions above. I wrestled to know what would make my writing better, thinking this would likely place my writing in good position to be read. I figured this would make it easier for me to feel comfortable, but minutes down it made me feel worse.
It wasn’t really about the writing. It was the anxiety.
Some people might struggle with the same problem. The urge to write better, feeling you should push the piece to being the best version of itself, but in the end failing to write anything because you think its not good enough. I have a feeling this usually happens often when you’re learning to write, when you’re trying to get your shit together. And it usually results in drafts that don’t seem to go anywhere.
To overcome it, I’ve chosen to believe that no one will ever read what I write. Not in the sense at I’ve surrendered to it being shitty, but because I’d like it to feel more like I’m writing to myself, something that I need to do for myself first before I consider having it out there. That way, that’s when I can only meaningfully connect with someone going through he same experience (or may have at some point). More than ever, this has led me to write a bit more than I did before. More meaningful words, more less rushed pieces and way less demanding work.
Most of all it has made it easier for me to write just about anything without having to ask myself tons of questions, and that acceptance is what I think runs pure in what often shapes many great works.
