The words and advice of both Sheer and Lamott ring true for the, well, truth of writing. The act of writing is absolutely a “process” and along that process, “messes” are necessary to continue along the path. As has been written and spoken many times before, no writer, not even the best of them, can sit down and write a masterpiece in one sitting or on the first attempt. It takes time, it takes effort, it takes persistence, it takes a process and messes. There is no short-cut to be taken, no easy way out, one is forced to walk the path to reach the end goal. Mistakes, errors and messes are bound to happen, the key is to learn from them, build on them, and again, continue to walk the path. I believe that Sheer covered the truth of writers pretty well, but I had to add a fifth, it would probably be, from the thoughts of my predecessors, writing is a social act (you need to share, edit, converse and do it all over again repeatedly to truly succeed at writing).
In order to excel at any activity, to create a habit of it is definitely a precursor. Practice, repetition and reflection are crucial aspects of excelling at something, as, once again, no one is simply just “great” at anything. I would like to excel (yes it involves my career aspirations) at 1) being the best lawyer I can possibly be, and 2) being the best writer/storyteller I can possibly be. I have written, reflected and edited a fairly substantial amount of work, but I have fallen off recently, and to form a habit would be an excellent way of bringing myself back to this goal. Dedicating certain allotted times for writing would be beneficial to my aspirations, but I need to stick with it, and hopefully I will have the fortitude to accomplish this.
The “Writer’s Middle Way” is the action of striking a healthy balance between living life, attending to your responsibilities and writing. It is important to create this balance because you can not allow any one singular thing to dominate your time, and one must give the right amount of effort to each part of your life, while also ensuring that no essential part gets left out in the cold. Writing is no different, and probably even more compatible with this balance, as it is an extra action added to your life, one that must be given time and effort to, but not at the cost of sacrificing other parts.
I would say that I have experienced unhealthy mental comparisons, periods of low self-esteem as well as boredom/exhaustion, but I think the number one aspect that holds me back in writing or acts as my weakness is the balance. I have on more than one occasion had long-stretches in which I have written to my hearts content on a consistent basis, but then in the blink of an eye running into even longer droughts in which I do not put a single word to paper. Life is a lot, and things get in the way, but I need to stay focused and persistent, while also striking a balance in order to avoid burn-out, to become the best writer I can possibly be.
