And specifically how it pertains to your writing.

Picture this scenario:

You get struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration. A marvelous and clever writing idea is nagging at the back of your head and now you’re excited to get it out on paper. You start typing or scribbling away, determined to create a modern masterpiece. The novel of the century.

Then you read it back and…you hate it.

Well, not hate it exactly… it just seems off. It feels clunky or unnatural. You struggle to convey your idea in a manner which comes off as concise. You’re disappointed in yourself. You pictured that this piece would practically write itself. What are you doing wrong? Could it be that you’re simply not cut out to be a writer??

First off, let me answer that question right away- NO. IF YOU DESIRE TO WRITE AND ENJOY WRITING, YOU ARE, IN FACT, CUT OUT TO WRITE AND, BY PROXY, BE A WRITER.

Phew, now that we got that out of the way, we can start dissecting what might be the core issue behind this scenario. I’d be willing to bet that this has happened to near all of us. We come up with a brilliant idea, picture exactly the vibe we must capture and then fumble and struggle to actually put this idea in action and on paper. We fill stupid and inept. So what’s going on?

I think more than likely, you need your writing skill to catch up with your creative vision.

Sometimes the best ideas can be incredibly difficult to write. And this is not a sign that you lack the ability to write it or it’s an impossible idea- it simply means you need more practice. It means you need more time. Time in which you hone your writing skills so you CAN execute this idea. The issue is, that people often don’t like to hear, the practice that is required is you badly writing this idea and gaining the skills along the way.

THIS IS WHY WE HAVE FIRST, SECOND AND SOMETIMES EVEN THIRD OR FOURTH DRAFTS.

You’re probably not going to find your rhythm in writing this idea right away. This will happen slowly the more and more you work on it. That’s why sometimes, when you write a longer piece and you go back to your beginning, you will find errors in the work you had completed merely months of even weeks ago.

The unfortunate thing about being a writer, is we largely learn on the job.

Sometimes we have to power through this part of the writing experience. It doesn’t mean we’re a bad writer. It just means we have a complex idea that we don’t have the practice or skillset to pull off yet. But, if we keep writing and honing our talent, we should accomplish this eventually, and, after a draft or two, pull off the idea exactly how we had pictured in our head.

Best of luck to you, fellow writer! May we power through together!