or how I learned to stop worrying and love the art of writing
I don’t like to punish myself by setting strict New Year’s resolutions, but I do like the fresh start of a brand new calendar to help set goals and intentions. There is something magic about these markers we create for ourselves in times of transition into new phases – new year, new moon, new week… – and I was ready to make a mindset shift that would take me into a new year with new energy.
In the year of 2024 I had a few things in mind that I would like to achieve: to walk more frequently, to purchase second-hand items instead of new wherever possible, and to finally read The Artist’s Way.
Confesion: this book had been sitting on my bookshelf with many other unread companions for several years at this point. Leaning into the self-development theme that assaults us every new year, I dove in and determined to give it my best efforts.
I had what I thought were reasonable, if not cynical, expectations. Surely a book couldn’t teach me anything I didn’t already know about myself? I already considered myself to be a creative person, but certainly could not have claimed to possess the talents or airs of a capital-A “Artist”.
But that’s where I was wrong. Turns out that I had a lot to learn from Julia Cameron, and over these past few months I have undergone small yet deeply significant transformations which have brought me to this point.
On writing
Seemingly out of nowhere, I unearthed a desire to become a writer. I’ve been a keen reader all my life, so why not try my hand at writing? Something about it had previously seemed out of reach, but what is writing, if not just making a string of words? Surely I could do that?
SPOILER ALERT: I could.
The hardest part was making the decision to do it. Deciding that I would be a writer. After that, everything else came shockingly easily and I could start planning, researching, and creating.
Once I knew where I was headed, I could figure out how I was going to get there.
It was amazing how many options I could explore, and how many branches sprouted from my initial ideas.
I wanted to track my progress, so I decided to start a blog. Next thing I know, I am taking a class on blogging for beginners; I am following a step-by-step video tutorial on how to set up a blog; I am choosing a domain name, brand colours, setting up social media profiles… and finally, I started to write my blog posts.
I applied habits that I knew would work for me and used this to make writing more accessible in my newbie phase. I began by following some channels on YouTube, watching videos on the craft of writing and repeatedly seeking information on skills required for creative writing. I looked up calls for submissions that sparked my imagination so I could use them as writing prompts, with the added bonus of giving me a hard deadline to work against. I signed up for workshops and classes online so I could learn from people with experience and hear feedback from peers on my level. And somehow, somewhere along the line, I allowed myself the possibility to achieve success.
So far this year I have submitted three short stories to different anthologies, and all three have been accepted. I have talked to my friends about the classes I am taking, worked on my projects at some creative get-togethers, and been bold enough to tell the people in my life what I want to achieve and – more importantly – that I am achieving some of my goals!
I have allowed myself the pleasure of pride, the joy of sharing, and the satisfaction of creating. Even now, I still have some doubts and disbelief at my progress – what do you mean, it’s that easy? People want to publish my work? Why didn’t I start this sooner? What should I do next? Even so, the sense of fulfilment is greater, and my next challenge is to keep up the momentum and stay moving forwards on my journey.
There are plenty of obstacles and setbacks. I haven’t found an online community that I fit into yet. I haven’t managed to form a writing routine that I can stick to. But what I have done is to try new things, and to keep on trying. I am at the beginning of my story, and I don’t really know where it ends yet. But in the meantime, I am tasting a little bit of everything until I see which flavours I truly love. I am putting my work out there and submitting it to publications without having any credibility or education to back me up. I am telling my friends about what I’m doing, I’m sharing my successes with them, and they are proud of me! I believe in myself.
In the space of just a few months I have done the thing. I am a writer. And very soon I will be a published writer!
How freeing it is to live a creative life. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.
Continued progress
I came across some huge revelations as well as some minor adjustments, but I believe they were all vital in developing my new approach. I would love to look back at my morning pages and share some of my key breakthroughs in a later post.
But for now, here I am on the 144th day of the year 2024 and I’ve done things that I never would have dreamed of just 145 days prior.
For the immediate future, I would like to keep writing my strange little stories and continue testing the waters of different themes and genres. My stretch goal is to look at writing longer work, novella length, and figure out what type of characters and scenarios would inspire me to flesh out a longer piece of writing.
There are another 222 days left of 2024, and I am so excited to see what I get up to next!
Let me know in the comments:
Have you tried The Artist's Way?
What were your new year resolutions for 2024?
What are you going to achieve in the next 222 days?