Eight Things My Writing Career Have Taught Me

I was paid for my writing for the first time in 2011, and it was a super riveting piece about the different places you can buy patio stone. If I am completely honest, I am not entirely happy with where my career is at ten years later. But I've been doing this long enough to know that I still have lots of time to get where I want to be. One of the best things that I've got from my writing career is the lessons and the confidence that I've built for the oncoming success. In an attempt to be positive on a day that I need it and in hopes to encourage others with dreams of a writing career, I'll share eight things that I've learned.

1. Wake up every morning believing you've achieved your writing dreams. Sit in front of the computer believing that you are already a success, but you just don't physically see it yet. Then write and work hard every day knowing that your dreams are about to reveal themselves any minute, hour, day, week, month, year or decade, but it will be revealed.

2. Support, encourage and celebrate other writers.

3. Take a long walk. Have a non-writing hobby. Make new friends. Travel. The more you do then the more inspiration you have for writing.

4. Always remember that your next piece of writing will be even better, and you should publish/submit now rather than edit it for ten more years. You can make up for the disappointing pieces by nailing it the next time.

5. Quantity births quality. Writing every day allows you to refine your skills and style. If you approach every day with the goal of doing your best writing and you actually make sure to write every day, then great works will follow.

6. You find inspiration by writing until it appears.

7. Trust your voice and tell your truth.

8. Be serious. Be silly. Be creative. Be informative. Be non-sensical. Be sensitive. Be bold. Just be.