Notes

Sometimes when I talk to people who are impressed by my writing, they say things like "I could never do that". It's really depressing, you know? As someone who loves more than anything else to share the joy of exploring your passions...it pains me when people think that being good just comes naturally. That's how it is with everything, not just writing. When you try something for the first time, you're probably going to suck at it. Sometimes, when you finish, you feel really proud of it and even want to share it with everyone. But maybe after a few weeks you come back to it, and you realize it was never really any good. That happens to me all the time. It can be pretty disheartening to put so much time and effort into something, and then you realize it sucks. But that tends to happen when you're always comparing yourself to the top professionals. When you reach right for the stars, they're always gonna be out of your reach, you know? The truth is, you have to climb up there, step by step. And whenever you reach a milestone, first you look back and see how far you've gotten...And then you look ahead and realize how much more there is to go. So, sometimes it can help to set the bar a little lower...Try to find something you think is pretty good, but not world-class. And you can make that your own personal goal.

It's also really important to understand the scope of what you're trying to do. If you jump right into a huge project and you're still amateur, you'll never get it done. So if we're talking about writing, a novel might be too much at first. Why not try some short stories? The great thing about short stories is that you can focus on just one thing that you want to do right. That goes for small projects in general - you can really focus on the one or two things. It's such a good learning experience and stepping stone.

Oh, one more thing... Writing isn't something where you just reach into your heart and something beautiful comes out. Just like drawing and painting, it's a skill in itself to learn how to express what you have inside. That means there are methods and guides and basics to it! Reading up on that stuff can be super eye-opening. That sort of planning and organization will really help prevent you from getting overwhelmed and giving up. And before you know it...You start sucking less and less. Nothing comes naturally. Our society, our art, everything - it's built on thousands of years of human innovation. So as long as you start on that foundation, and take it step by step...You, too, can do amazing things.