What it takes to “make it”
I can see why people would think it’s necessary to treat their writing like a job. Developing a skill takes time, study, and dedication. But Morgan! You treated it like a job! No. I treated it like school. Sometimes I only dedicated a couple hours to “homework” per week. Sometimes I worked as if it was exam week. Sometimes I faced roadblocks (which sometimes took extra self-discipline or “teachers” to get through), but I never let it burn me out. I never sacrificed at the cost of my mental health. I took time off to touch grass and enjoy life. Spring breaks, if you will.
I see only two requirements to “make it.”
1. A willingness to learn.
2. A willingness to fail.
You will fail to finish a draft. Fail to make characters pop. Fail to build proper pacing. Fail to execute scenes the way they exist in your head. Fail to get an agent. Fail to get a book deal. Fail to get the advance you want. Fail to evade one-star reviews. And so. many. more. things. So fail forward.
Creative industries (heck, life itself) is a giant unflushable toilet, and you have to be willing to sift through the shit to find the gold. That’s where the work lies. Not in habits, not in sacrifices, but in failures. Find the lessons in your failures and use them to improve your next attempts. Sometimes your failures will teach you the same lesson—often repeatedly. Sometimes you won’t see the lesson until much later. Keep trying new techniques, looking inward, acknowledge your failures, and keep searching for the lessons that help you one-up yourself. One day, you’ll look up from your own paper and find yourself standing exactly where you want to be.
I think when most people say to treat it like a job they really mean to treat it seriously. I’ll add a caveat: treat it seriously for the goals you have. Let’s be real—C’s get degrees! And if we’re digging deep into the metaphor, even degrees aren’t mandatory to build a fulfilling life. Only a self-awareness of where your passions really lie. Do you want to write fanfiction for fun? For yourself? For your friend circle? Great. You know what is required of you, and more importantly, what isn’t. Do you want to write professionally? Great. Research the path that’s right for you and check in with yourself constantly. As you learn, you might very well realize things about yourself, your preferences, and what you want your career to look like day-to-day.
And if all of that shit-sifting isn’t worth it to you? THAT’S OKAY. You aren’t obligated to stick to a goal. The reality of goals is that they evolve as we grow. Only you can know where to stop, breathe, and pivot for the sake of your happiness. At worst, your goal should feel worth the bad days. It should not feel like a chore. It should not feel like grueling overtime. You should feel satisfaction from the pursuit.
The great goal of life isn’t to “beat the competition.” It’s to be happy. Don’t lose sight of that.