Writing

January 7th, 2015.

The second observation that came to me while washing dishes (truly, the first step toward meditation) is that you don’t become a writer at the moment you sell your first book, nor when you sign your first film contract, but simply when you sit down and write words on a page.

Because that is what writing is. Everything else is honing the craft. Sure, maybe it’s not worth going around telling everyone you’re a writer until you’re published—people will laugh at you—but to yourself you can always be honest: you’re a writer, even if a lousy one. You’re just learning. And to learn, you must write, make mistakes, rewrite, and repeat the cycle.

I’m always afraid I won’t succeed at writing. But I just finished a year in Complex Systems, and a year ago completed the first course of a neurobiology program. In 2012, all this would have seemed like a crazy plan to me: no knowledge of biology, no programming, no idea how science works.
But slowly, with effort, I overcame the barriers. Yes, I was weaker than many around me—many were smarter than me in programming, in neurobiology—but my goal was never to be smarter than everyone else in the world, only smarter than myself in 2012.

In the same way, if I want to finally start writing consistently, and I’m always afraid that I’ll produce bad, childish, ridiculous stories that no one will like and that I’ll abandon halfway, I need to look at my past experience and recognize that I can overcome myself.
No, I won’t become Stephen King, etc., but I can definitely achieve this goal: to write and to finish. And if I keep finishing and editing, over time the quality will improve. Because quality usually either stays the same or grows. So it’s definitely worth trying.