Give Yourself a Break

When I set out to write this piece, I began with a title: “Sometimes, I Need Lighter Fluid”. As is often the case, inspiration for the title and accompanying article came at quite the inopportune moment: just after I had started shaving. Nevertheless, I captured both and began writing intending to bemoan the fact that over the last three months or thereabouts, I had failed to produce a respectable number of substantial articles. Attributing this lack of prolificacy to my job, I planned to write about how posting linked list items kept writing at the forefront of my mind, and how these types of articles often served as the gateway drug, if you will, to the long-form pieces I wrote in the evenings and on weekends.

I got through the first paragraph, right up to the point where I planned to list the disparagingly few original works I had produced, when I realized that I was wrong: over the summer, I had written quite a bit. And most importantly, I still feel great pride towards almost every one of those articles.

That is the realization I wish to leave with you, aspiring writer: sometimes it will appear as if you have written very few articles, and of those articles a dispiriting few merit any pride. But take a step back and get out of your own head: chances are, you will have written more than you previously thought, and I’m willing to bet that those articles aren’t quite as bad as you think.