Writers: Let’s write with less self-pity

It pains me to disagree with a superstar writer like Susan Orlean. 

Her book, “The Library Book,” is a tremendous treatise on the history of libraries in America and their impact on our culture and society. I loved it. 

But her essay “Writing is Nightmarish Hellscape” is exactly what we don’t need when it comes to encouraging others to write online.

Is writing difficult? Yes. 

Is publishing online scary—even gut-wrenching for some? Absolutely. 

Take a deep breath and inhale some perspective

But come on. We’re tapping on keys here. Maybe nibbling on chocolate or nipping on whiskey, even, as we put our thoughts to bits and bytes. 

There are tasks far more daunting and dangerous. Jobs and responsiblities with more pressure, more consequences.  

I firmly believe we can all write. The climb as never as steep as the mountains we create in our minds around drafting, editing, and, horror of horrors, pressing publish.

Let’s focus on the miracle of modern writing  

Writing isn’t easy. You have to do a lot of it to get “good,” and you‘ll probably never feel like you are good. 

And the fear and frustrations of writing are real.

But writing is also deeply personal, creative, and expressive. In all of history, we’ve never had a greater opportunity to create and have our work seen. And that miracle supersedes all the self-flagellation about how “hard” it is.