1. Most of your family and friends just don’t “get it.”
2. And most of the writing “friends” you have don’t actually live near you. You’ve never even met most of them in person. Ugh.
3. A lot of people don’t think writers should be paid what they’re worth.
4. And they don’t think they should be treated too nicely, either.
5. It takes a long time to write stuff.
6. It takes a lot of energy, too.
7. Sometimes you write things and no one reads them.
8. But anyone can find your articles online and sometimes they also find you and say mean things.
9. Rejection hurts.
10. Not hearing anything at all is worse.
11. Every once in a while, it’s like the idea river stops flowing.
12. Also sometimes you have a lot of ideas and don’t know which one to start with.
13. There are so many things you want to write/do that you feel overwhelmed and don’t do anything.
14. Are you actually even a writer? How do you know?
15. It often feels like the work you’re doing isn’t paying off, even though it is. Slowly. Very slowly.
Is writing still worth the struggle? Of course it is. Because there will always be trolls and silence and rejection and failure. But if you keep writing and keep working, you will find an audience. It might be a small one. You might never make a living as a writer. That does not mean you can’t be successful, or that it’s not worth the effort.
Writing is always worth the effort. Keep going. Even when it feels like you can’t go anymore, push through it. You won’t regret it.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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