There will be pain… and that pain will be worth it.
The above is advice that I think every writer needs to hear because so often we find ourselves buying into the myth that “real art” should flow easily. That it should come through us in flashes of inspiration where everything flows as naturally as water through a creek bed.
Sometimes creativity does work that way, and when it does it’s amazing. A creative career involves a lot of things that are much less exciting than just sitting down and flowing, however, because growing as a writer involves figuring out what works for you and what doesn’t.
This usually means trying new things, letting go of things that aren’t working, and doing things that you know work even when you don’t necessarily feel like it.
I’ve had my share of experience with all three of these things and I can tell you, that there is pain involved with each. Granted, not all will be difficult for everyone. Maybe you’re the kind of person who can let go of things that aren’t working without a second thought Or you’re so excited to try new things that the daunting process of figuring them out doesn’t intimidate you like it does others. Or you’re so practiced at doing things you don’t feel like doing, that it’s become second nature to you.
But, odds are that at least two of the above give you a moment of pause and desire that you didn’t need to do that thing. And sometimes, things that used to be easy for us no longer are. I have come firmly to believe that the necessity for adaptation is one of life’s few universal truths.
I ran into an example of this myself recently, in making progress on the third Roc Rider novel. Having finally reached a point where I was ready to move on to a new step in the process, I found myself stymied in a way I normally am not.
My hesitation to take the next step surprised me, as usually, I’m chomping at the bit to get to that part and have to remind myself to not rush the earlier parts of the process. Considering that said earlier parts have taken so much longer than usual and than I had hoped they would, my confusion with myself only grew.
Making myself sit down and start that next step, despite the internal barriers holding me back, was painful. But it was a necessary pain, and now that I’m progressing again I know that pain was worth it.
Another example from my past that might prove useful to others was my failed experiment with daily word count goals. I’ve written about this on the blog before, but essentially, at my first writer’s conference, everyone talked about how essential daily word count goals were so I tried them. The experiment failed but my desire to try something different, to prove I was willing to grow and change as a writer, overrode my good sense for several years. I kept trying to force the technique to work even though, for me, it didn’t.
Finally, I had to let go of something that wasn’t working. That was painful, in no small part because it made me feel I had wasted so much time. But in the end, my creativity was better for it.
There was pain, but the pain was worth it.
As you stumble through finding your own process, remember that. Don’t let the threat of pain discourage you. Let it guide you. Know that not always, but sometimes, doing something uncomfortable will help, and is going to be better for you in the end.
There will sometimes be pain, dear writer. But as long as you learn from it, the pain will be worth it.
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