Have You Asked Yourself This Question Yet?

I've recently begun watching Brandon Sanderson's 2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU which are available for free on his YouTube page.

I've only watched the first video so far, but that alone was enough to have me thinking of questions that we should all be asking ourselves as writers, aspiring or otherwise.

• What does my success look like?
• What am I willing to accept?
• Would you keep going even if you never published?

Sanderson tells the students in his lecture that it is not impossible to become a full-time writer if you give it 10 years of hard work, but it is not a guarantee. The chances are higher than zero - but it's not high enough to be a surefire thing.

There is also the fact that success looks different to each writer.

Some writers believe that success is having a big fancy house and an expensive car to prove they are successful while others can have success meaning that they are able to support themselves with their writing.

Some writers view their success as just telling their stories regardless of how much money they make from them, as it's the act of writing and putting their thoughts down on paper that matters most to them.

My idea of success might look different from yours and yours might look different than everyone else's.

Before you spend the next ten years working for something, you should have a clear image in your head of what it is that you are working for.

Do you want to live solely off the income you earn from writing?

Would you still write if you never made a single penny from it?

Sitting down and spending some time thinking over what your version of success looks like can have you making plans for how you are going to reach your goal and continue to work through it one step at a time instead of just throwing things at the page and seeing what sticks.

What does success look like for you? Is it a monetary amount? Is it seeing your books in your local bookstore? Is it seeing your work turned into a movie?

What are you willing to accept? If your book doesn't sell well are you willing to see this as a stepping stone or a sign that you should give up?

Is your version of success worth enough for you to keep trying despite the rejections and books that may not earn you back much more than you spent to get them published?

Would you keep writing even if your books were never published? Never read by a single person? Would you still continue to sit there and type up these stories for no one but yourself?

Best of luck in finding your answers!

With love,

B. xo xo

____________________________________________________

*If you've liked what you read you can show your support by subscribing, pledging your support, or leaving me a tip that directly supports and aids me as a writer.

By joining Vocal+ you can earn more per read on every story you publish on Vocal.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This story was originally posted on Medium.

Help power my writing with a virtual coffee! Starting at just $1! Your support keeps my creativity brewing! ☕

Thank you for your support and happy writing!

Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Threads | Youtube | Facebook | Twitch