Remember Why You Write

The writer’s path is long, winding, and steep. It can be hard—very hard—to see even a single project to completion, let alone the dozens of projects that comprise a career. So while there’s still some light in the sky, remember why exactly you set out in search of the most fickle of muses.

Was it a book you read? One so deep and wide and thrilling that you couldn’t escape its pull? Did it inspire in you the greatness you now pursue? Did it help you through the brambles of a difficult time, and lead you to want to do the same for others? Or was your first love not some budding beauty, but a pen a paper? Did that tidal wave of creative energy rush you out into Wonderland? Were you surprised by how boundless your creativity truly is?

Whatever that initial spark, capture it in a jar and place it on your desk. Totemize it, as the art you place on the walls. Objectify it, as a coin or card and keep it in your pocket. Iconize is, as the wallpaper on your desktop and the “new tab” page of your browser. Ritualize is, as a reoccurring calendar event or todo list task to “remember, for a moment, why you write.) Universalize it, in every nook and cranny of your life. Because writing is hard, but if you remember why you do it, you’ll never ever stop.