We would all appreciate it if 2022 turned out to be a bit less challenging than the last two years. We’re not holding our breath over here, but it’s nice to think about.
In a new post, Chuck Wendig says his New Year’s Resolution is to find the joy in his writing. “I think in the midst of the chaos, which is considerable, I am reminded that nothing is promised, nothing is guaranteed,” he says. “We are owed nothing but what we owe ourselves, and it is exactly that compact, that contract, that I want to cleave to this year. Because what I owe myself is to find joy amidst that chaos.”
For Wendig, that means finding the joy in his writing. Not that every second has to be amazing. It won’t be. But some part of the work should bring you satisfaction and happiness. Maybe it’s the rush of drafting a new idea or the thrill of typing “the end.” Maybe it’s solving a story problem by your wits or having a friend say they loved your story. Figure out your payoff and be grateful for it. Chase after it.
“The things in which I find joy, I will pursue doggedly this year,” Wendig says. “I’m also going to seek opportunity in writing to make myself happy first and foremost, to find something in every day’s work that gives me true, even if small, joy. Something for me, not for you.”
