I want to write books. Articles. For websites. For magazines. For businesses. For myself, my family and my friends. Fiction. Non-fiction. About my interests. About other people’s interests. Self-help. Opinions. Lots. I want to write, full stop.
I know what I need to be doing. If I don’t finally give writing a proper go, I have nobody to blame but myself if I never publish any work.
Holding me back in the past was a lack of motivation, confidence and accountability. As I explained before, I didn’t have good enough reasons to spend my time writing, and I didn’t know where to start, who to ask or what to do. And I didn’t have any deadlines or external expectations. Some might call it laziness. I had the ideas, but acting on them felt impossible.
More recently, motivation and confidence have been less of an issue because I know why I want to write, and I’m not afraid of doing it. But a lack of accountability still meant writing was something I never seemed to devote enough time to.
I knew I needed to be writing frequently, ideally daily, to develop the habit and build a portfolio of work. And I had to do it for an audience who would hold me accountable.
And then, it became clear.
I’ve been struggling to write for years. Finally, I knew what to do to get my work out there, regularly, to ensure consistency and growth as a writer.
The Writing Struggle. Pleasure to meet you. Born from my desire to write, and my struggle to do so.
My failures. My successes. My journey. The Writing Struggle will record the process and progress of becoming, and being, a writer, from scratch.
I hope this is useful for other aspiring or struggling writers; the people who, like me, want to get their work done and out there. I want to show you the steps I’ve taken, and am continuing to take, to prove that being a writer is possible for anyone. What works for me, what doesn’t, and all the ins and outs of what I’m doing as I travel down this path.
(For example, I’m currently sitting in a café at seven p.m. after a ten-hour day at work. I’ve had a challenging week, and I didn’t know when I’d get to write this article. But I’ve made time. I needed to get this done. I’ve changed!)
Because The Writing Struggle is about writing, per se, it means I need to actually be working on my other writing projects so I have progress to chart and issues to discuss. The two go massively hand in hand; without The Writing Struggle, I would struggle with my other writing projects, and vice versa.
That’s what writing for this website means for me. It’s crucial. But, without readers, the process isn’t complete; my sense of urgency will diminish.
I therefore hope to write interesting, engaging words which make people want to come back. Maybe some of you who visit here regularly will also buy the books I publish in the future, or sign up to other projects I get involved with. Maybe I’ll get involved in some of your projects. Who knows. I know I can’t please everyone all the time and my work here will be an acquired taste; ultimately, the person I’m most accountable to is myself. But if at least one other person thinks they can do it as well, and I motivate them to try, I will have succeeded with The Writing Struggle.
Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want. To help myself and people like me, others who want to be writers. And provide meaningful (and, hopefully, enjoyable) reading for the casual reader. In doing this, I will be demonstrating my credentials as a writer with a reputable portfolio of work and establish The Writing Struggle as a viable source of creative content.
As you may have noticed, I’ve classified The Writing Struggle as an online magazine, rather than a blog. I get to do that as founder and editor-in-chief. There is a practical reason for this distinction, at least in my head, and it will become clearer over time.
So, what are the big plans for The Writing Struggle over the next few months?
I’ve got plenty of articles lined up, for a start. I reckon they might even be quite good. Hopefully, if you’re reading this, you’ll pop back to check them out. Or, sign up to the newsletter at the top of the page and get all the latest updates straight to your inbox.
Also, I’ve got a particularly exciting project to announce very soon. A big one. My first book! I won’t give the game away just yet but I can’t wait to tell you about it. And to start working on it.
What’s that? Start it? That’s right. I’m going to announce the book on here, tell you what it is I’m writing about, record my progress on The Writing Struggle and aim to publish in 2017.
After that, I have lots more projects lined up which I’m equally excited to get working on. You’ll be the first to know about all of them.
Thanks so much for stopping by to read this article. The Writing Struggle may become something, and it may not, but having you here reading this, right now, proves to me that this idea of mine has some legs. I want to make sure I get those legs walking, then running, and while I may not be winning any races just yet I’ll be taking part, at least.
And, eventually, winning.
If you want to get in contact, visit the About page to find out more.
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