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I think that’s what the OP is getting at though. Writing can be really fun, but we like to play mind tricks on ourselves and inevitably make it harder
by codegangsta 4y ago
I think that’s what the OP is getting at though. Writing can be really fun, but we like to play mind tricks on ourselves and inevitably make it harder
- torh 4y agoAuthor here. You're absolutely right. I enjoy writing, it's fun, but once I start thinking that someone might read it, I get anxious and clam up. That's why I love to journal with pen and paper: I don't have to worry about someone reading it. I don't even read it myself. The thing that has always sucked joy out of the process is that the initial draft never look as good as someone else's finished text. Which is the wrong comparison on so many levels. I like to compare it to phtography. A photographer doesn't take just one perfect image and moves on. For each published image, a thousand might be rejected in the editing process.
- eointierney 4y agoI agree, first drafts are most difficult, and second and third tend not be be much easier. As much as it's like slowly carving a gem from a rock it's also like cleaning a toilet with pristine thoroughness. It must a pleasure for the next person to experience. It's a heady responsibilty, to think for oneself and some other at the same time. And I reckon I read many thousands of words for every word I write. Especially here on HN, the erudition and generosity on display is always a treat.
- borroka 4y agoYou express yourself with the tools you have at that moment, on the ideas you have at that moment. You work on it and work on it again until you are satisfied or want to move on. In general, I recommend showing what you have written to others. I publish essays on substack that are read, at most, by 8 people, but my repeated effort, knowing that someone, even just a few people, read what I write, makes it worth the effort in my mind.