In a post on Writer Unboxed, Natalie Hart says it’s ok to quit. “NOT writing as a whole,” she clarifies. “Neither of us would be here if we wanted to give up writing. But what if you gave up an idea that is holding you back? Might it free you, your writing, your creativity?”
Do you believe you need to finish one manuscript before you start on something else? “What if the self-imposed idea that you have to finish something before you start the next thing is preventing you from working both on the old story and on the new story?: Hart asks. “Maybe you don’t like the old thing anymore, or the story isn’t quite working and you can’t figure out how to fix it, or it reminds you of a bad time in your life, or any other reason.”
Do you believe there’s one best way to write? “No system and no writing advice will help you avoid it completely. And no system or writing advice can guarantee commercial success,” Hart writes. “Giving up the idea that there is a Best System can set you free to pick up and run with the writing advice that gives you energy and makes your imagination churn with ideas, and set aside writing advice that stymies you.”
Do you believe you have to publish and sell a lot of books before you can be considered a real writer? “If you are happy writing and publishing for the people who know you and a few who discover you, then embrace it,” Hart says. “There are plenty of other things we do for pleasure and for the challenge that we don’t do in order to make a living from it.”
Whatever your preconceived notions about writing, ask yourself if they are working for you. “Ask yourself the radical and simple question: What if I gave this idea up?” Hart concludes. “Tease out the what ifs. Explore the options. You might surprise yourself.”
