The biggest predictor of your success

Dive in. The water's fine.

Hey, Runners!

There is one single predictor of your success¹ as a writer and that predictor is community.

Not just that you have one, but that you participate in one.

And it’s hard, I’m not gonna lie. Last week, I talked about how much that negative voice in your head derails your ability to write.

The thing that happens in groups is that we imagine that voice belonging to the other people in that group. Because we don’t want them to be thinking the things about us that we think about ourselves, we deny them the opportunity to know us. We do that by holding back.

And that’s the exact opposite of what we should do.

Today’s Comments Assignment:

In the comments, share the best thing anyone has ever said to you about your writing.

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It’s time to lean in

Look, we’ve all been on social media now for a long time and it’s a bubbling cauldron of bad faith and troll-baiting.

No matter what you say, somebody (or some bot) will come in and say something cruel or nasty to the point where the only way to stay safe is to stay quiet.

So we learn to pull back. Stay quiet. Don’t be perceived. Keep to the shadows, where it’s safe.

But that’s not how the Running of the WIPs is going to work.

If you want this to work for you, you’re going to have to work for it.

You’re going to have to participate.

Actively.

If that scares you, it’s okay. Let yourself feel that fear, and don’t judge it. The fear is real, and it’s there for a reason; it’s trying to keep you safe.

So now is when you make a choice; do you want to listen to the fear, or do you want to see if this can really work for you?

Remember as you make that choice that the other people here are worried about the same things you are, and you might be exactly what they need to do this thing.

Imagine not only what it would be like to get the encouragement you need to write your story, but being the source of similar encouragement for someone else.

It’s something to think about.

1. By “success” I mean doing the actual writing; financial/career success is a whole different beast.