Writing has been terribly romanticized.

When we first become writers, we have this lovely dream of crafting wonderful stories while sipping on an endless supply of coffee and inspiration. Everything’s perfect and our stories are perfect. It’s all this fluffy stuff. Happiness, puppies, and rainbows. Wholly and solely this.

This is incorrect.

It doesn’t take long to realize just how hard this whole writing thing truly is. Suddenly our stories don’t seem so great, inspiration has fled, and writer’s block is a frequent visitor (and coffee isn’t helping).

The world doesn’t realize how hard writing is.

Like anything, it takes practice and dedication. But sometimes it’s hard to recover from the preconceived notion that writing is some beautifully easy dream. Smashed dreams can be hard to come back from.

How can we ditch this idea that’s been fed to us from the world? This idea that writing is something magical, beautiful, inspiring and world-changing?

Realize that it is. And something more.

Weaving stories holds it’s own special magic. There’s a wild beauty to this creative art that is so addicting and awe-inspiring. We can be inspired by our stories, inspire someone else, and find so much inspiration in this crazy world from things that most people would just pass over. And stories are world-changing. 

Stories have such power. Power to change the way someone thinks. And that’s almost a scary thought. To think that we can change someone with our words.

Let’s focus on the world-changing aspect of this for a moment. Anything that makes such a big impact takes work. Yes, all the things I said above are true. But what’s underneath all that? The grit. The dedication. The blood, sweat and tears. 

Your dreams and goals aren’t just going to fall into your lap. You have to work for them. It’s an endless road of learning, working, and getting better. And believe it or not, perfection is not achievable. It’s not for most things, and certainly not for writing.

Don’t be discouraged by this thought. Think of it instead as an endless road of discovery. Think of all the things you’ll learn, love, and create along the way.

Now let’s think about the beauty of writing. To think that some ink on paper could move someone to tears, make them laugh, or make them smile. You know those books that you just cry through most of it? Crying is usually associated with a sad thing, but it usually ends up that those books that move us the most are our favorites. It’s the beauty of life. Your story has the power to morph into something that will make someone’s day or change their life.

Inspiration is a huge part of the writing life. Without it, we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing. Writing wouldn’t be possible. I think it’s a wonderful thing how the writer’s mind works. Our creativity can be triggered by the smallest things. I love it when an idea hits me smack in the face, from something I usually wouldn’t have given a second glance. It’s unpredictable, it’s wild, it’s thrilling.

All the things I’ve been talking about so far are things that the world sees. They see the finished product. The published book in all it’s attractive glimmer. The story is polished and ready for readers. They see, no feel, the story. It inspires them, uplifts them, and makes an impression on their minds.

But that’s all they see.

They don’t see the grueling hours at the screen, the red eyes and sore neck. They don’t see us when we’re up late trying to figure out just what in the world is wrong with this story. They don’t hear the groans, see the tears, or know when the motivation has just left us. They never see the gaping plot holes, the flat characters, and rough drafts. They’re not here when we’re editing our stories, marking them up with markers until they’re barely readable. They don’t see the thrown out ideas, the desperation, the nearly-giving-up.

They don’t know. They don’t see. They don’t understand.

The world has their own ideas of what writing is like, and somehow those impressions leak into the writing community. Then writers get these wrong ideas in their head that writing should be easy. And when it’s not, they feel crushed. They feel like maybe, they’re not good enough, their writing isn’t good enough. Maybe they’re just not cut out for this. Maybe they should just…give up…

If you’re thinking like this as a result of the romanticizing of writing the world has filled us with, let me tell you…

You’re a fighter. 

You’re more than a creative being. Just the fact that you’re still writing proves that you can do this. You’ve got the grit, the determination, and the dedication that it takes to keep going. Don’t expect things to be easy. You have to work hard. But look how far you’ve come, and dream about how far you can go. Because the road is endless and stretches on, just waiting for you to discover new things and write new stories.

Don’t let the world color how you see writing. It’s a craft. Yes, it’s inspiring and world-changing and beautiful. But dig down and you see the people willing to get their hands dirty to finish what they started.

How the world sees writers: dreamers, storytellers, coffee-addicts, etc.

How writers actually are: dreamers, storytellers, fighters, the dedicated, the determined, the creative, the world-changers, the people-movers.

And yes, coffee addicts. 😉

So go out there and write on,

Hi, there, fighter. 😉 In what other ways has the world romanticized writing? What’s something you wish the world would understand about writing?

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