Writing IS Hard!
If you write, it’s because you want to. You may feel it’s a “calling”, or something that speaks to your soul. You may simply have a great idea for a story and want to get it out there. You may only want to tell your story, or your family’s in the form of a memoir and that’s it.
Regardless of your motivation, we all know writing is hard! But what’s easy to forget when we’re in the trenches is that other people don’t know this. Shocking, isn’t it? It’s obvious to us how much work goes into brainstorming, planning, outlining, drafting, revisions. We’re the equivalent of all those credits at the end of the film—except we’re only ONE person! Yet a well-meaning friend may be stumped when they ask how your book is coming along and your answer is the same as the last time. Or a family member snorts in ill-concealed derision that you’re finding it challenging. I mean, they say, anybody can write, right?
Uh, no, obviously not. But since almost everybody can read, it’s easy for others to think anybody can write. That can be discouraging, when others don’t recognize the challenges—both technical and emotional—that we face.
Don’t despair. I know what you’re going through. Maybe some other people in your writing life, do, too. Seek them out. Commiserate. And don’t think for one minute that those other people are right. Because we do know writing is hard.