You write and you know you’re talented at connecting words in a beautiful and compelling order on paper. It feels good, and it’s fulfilling. It’s also dangerous.
The satisfaction you feel it is also the major obstacle in getting better. I know a lot about it because I’ve been there. Thinking I was better than other beginner writers and diminishing in my mind every published writer I read. There was always an excuse for their success: they were in the right time and place, they knew a publisher, and so on.
I didn’t spend too many weeks in that state. Like any other human activity, you get better if you learn and work harder. While I learned more through courses and books about writing, the feeling of something missing was always there.
It wasn’t about the writing technique or planning a story. It wasn’t about doing research the right way or understanding the intricate structure of a scene. I was already working on creating Asengana so I knew I had all this part covered. Something was missing.
I paid more attention to writers online and offline. Some were asking “beginner’s questions” online. Others were doing their own research and building the infrastructure needed for their future success. From websites to writing groups, from writing in Word to using clumsy writing software (when you need an entire ecosystem of online courses to learn how to use a writing software… something is not right).
In the meantime, Asengana was ready and live. And I was still searching for what was missing from my writing. Until one morning when I was working on a blog post after a writing break of over two weeks. I was typing, and I felt happy. What was missing from my writing was actually more writing. Searching what was missing was time I should have spent writing. It’s that simple.
Once you move beyond the fake safety of your self-designated talent as a writer and understand that being a professional writer is about working hard and working smart, all that remains is to write.
No, this is not an article about why you should be using Asengana. This is an article about the fact that it makes sense to learn, work, and fill in all the missing things in your writing as long as you’re happy when you write. Write on paper. Write in a Google doc. Write using a writing platform. Just write. Be happy.
