tl;dr: Explore the vital elements shaping our journey as a writer–from balance and health to curiosity, openness, passion, imagination, commitment, and perseverance. Recognize their interconnected nature, embrace them, and reflect on them regularly for sustained success in our writing and overall life.
Welcome to experience points! I have to start somewhere, so let’s jump in and talk about the rocks that form the base of our creative life. Regardless of where we are on our path as a writer, each of these adds weight and a sense of purpose, both grounding us and letting us flourish. Properly nourished, they’ll work their way into all we do, building on each other, creating a reliable base we can tap, thereby allowing us to stay in the Write Mind and do our work. We may be stronger in some traits than others, and that’s ok–we’re a work in progress!
We’ll take a closer look at these in the weeks to come, but for now, let’s dig in.
Balance
Balance comes in many ways–balance between work and family, online and offline time, writing and promoting. Losing balance means losing perspective. Things get out of whack, and for me, when things get out of balance, then everything in my life suffers, including my writing. This sense of balance is different for each of us and can even vary month to month, year to year. When things are balanced, the world’s our oyster, but when we’re unbalanced–watch out below!
Physical Health
If balance is the mental health of our work, then nutrition, exercise, and sleep are its physical counterpart. If we’re not fueling and resting our bodies for the marathon of writing, then we’ll either fade or flame out. Sure, we might be able to compensate for a lack in these areas for short periods of time, but it will always catch up with us. If we want to be prolific writers for the long run, we need to stay healthy.
Inquisitive
Approaching the world and people in it with the inquisitiveness of a child is essential to a writer. It’s a curiosity, a willingness to shamelessly explore, ask questions, and seek knowledge–like a magpie collecting bits of junk, waiting for the right moment to show the world it’s really a treasure.
Openness
This is slightly different from being inquisitive. It’s being open and understanding of other people, ideas and experiences. It creates a well-spring for our stories, fostering a sense of empathy for people and their situations. Putting up walls to these experiences may protect us from painful emotions, but might rob us of a creative spark.
Passion
If we aren’t passionate about our writing, no one will be. We need to infuse our writing with the passion that fills our soul, motivating us to write. It has to come from within because on those dark winter days there’s only us and our words–if we’re not feeling it, then a million distractions will pull us away.
Imagination
Our imagination is a subjective trait. It can’t be measured, but it can be nurtured, it can be feed, and it can grow. It’s different from passion, but passion fueled by imagination layered with inquisitiveness and openness results in synergies where the sum is greater than the parts. This is where magic is born.
Commitment
It’s great to have our rocks, but untethered we can wander listlessly with no direction. This is the ability to focus and bring them all together into a cohesive purpose, driven by a desired end that can span years on the same collection of words. This commitment gives our writing structure and direction, and fills our lives with pragmatism and purpose.
Perseverance
Even with commitment, balance, and our health, there’s a necessary longevity and hardiness to being a writer. Perseverance is sticking to something, the bravery to see it through the hard times, and a hardness against taking the easy way out and quitting. It’s keeping our writing in motion, taking the next breath, continually restoring our energy, and pushing to completion. We can only quit or press on, so we press on.
So, that’s it–just a few small things, right? These are the rocks that form the foundation of our writing life, keeping us in the Write Mind, both pushing us and pulling us forward. Reflect on them often, and keep them close at hand. They’ll pay dividends if nourished, worming their way through all aspects of your life.
This is how I see it, but let me know what you think. What’d I miss?
All excellent pillars.
The one extra thing for me is reading. Read lots, read hard, read across genres and styles, read in detail, work out what you like or don't like and why, etc. I think it's the biggest thing that's helped me in trying to be a writer.
Rocked it!