The Struggle Is Real

I almost called my site something else. The name came to me one day when I was trying to come up with something clever. A hook. A niche. Then, it hit me. I struggle to write. (Yes! What a niche!)

How's this for a site name? The Struggling Writer ... or Author. I ended up buying both domains. And while I didn't name my site either of these titles because I was scared about "branding" (insert that RDJ meme of him rolling in eyes in disgust) and wanted to associate my name with my books (what books? you say), I went with my real name.

But the struggle remains.

And one of the things I want to write about on this blog is the struggle. And how to overcome it, either through sheer will or helpful productivity tips (I'm a productivity junkie).

One thing I've picked up on from years of listening to writers on podcasts and reading articles about writing is that one should not beat himself/herself up if the struggle makes its way into the writing process. That having an off day happens to even the best of writers, and shaming yourself for only writing a hundred words versus a thousand doesn't make matters better.

I love Masterclass and I've renewed my subscription for the past few years. I've watched Aaron Sorkin's class a few times and his openness about his process and sometimes self-doubt is refreshing to hear given his body of work.

He said something in one of the lessons that I wrote down and refer to on those bad days. He said:

Anything that can give you the feeling that you're making progress is going to help you emotionally.

I love Ray Bradbury's advice on writing a draft and feeling your way through it rather than thinking too much. Sometimes the thinking or overthinking stops us from making progress. Instead of stopping, we should continue on, relax our brain and let whatever words spill out on the page just spill out.