Sublime

Practicing In Public is what separates aspiring writers from professional writers. In life, a lot of people talk about doing the thing they want to do. They talk and they imagine and they brainstorm and they keep their work hidden and all the while, they convince themselves what they’re doing is brilliant.

For any project, you must know what you are doing—and what you are not doing. You must also know who you are doing it for—and who you are not doing it for—to be able to say: THIS and for THESE PEOPLE.

I’ve met with no shortage of smart, accomplished people who, I’ve realized, don’t actually want to write a book despite what they say. They want to have a book. We find these types in every industry. We should pity them—because they’ll never get what their ego craves so desperately.

Remember: repetition is how you reinforce who you are, what you know, and what life experiences are informing your writing, perspective, and unique point of view. Repetition is how you get people to remember “you.”

Bad writers don’t understand this, which is precisely what makes them bad writers. They presume their writing has achieved a certain level of excellence, so they are closed off to the concept of editing or rewriting.

When you set out on the road to self-discovery, it will not just be you walking on that road. “No man is an island,” John Donne wrote, and this is better news than we realize.