Matt, this is so generous. It feels like someone resetting the internal compass.
You are such a remarkable cheerleader for other writers, so it's downright thrilling to see you step back onto the page yourself and share your own thinking again.
(Also very honored to play even a tiny part in how you think about writing!)
I love this, Matt. It’s so helpful to me. I have battled all my life with this one thing that is the only true ‘feeling-fully-alive’ thing that I want to do. You are not alone with your own writerly struggles. And thanks to you and Parul and Lindsey and other special people on LWS, I know that I am not alone either. LWS is a wonderful thing. Thank you!
13. Don't spend more than two percent of your precious writing time reading about rules and practices for writing. The other ninety-eight must be actual writing or thinking that leads to writing. I fail at this constantly because it is so alluring to keep searching for that universal answer on how to write. Well, the answer, as always, is: Write.
Lately, my goals are less about “achieving” and more about being, experiencing, and living. This post feels like a little wink from the universe, validating what I’ve been choosing and learning about myself.
I really appreciate the way you shared a balance of practical and existential perspectives. And I loved seeing some of my favorites, like Seth Godin and Joe Dispenza, referenced.
Thank you for such a refreshing read, and for all you do for the LWS community (and the world!).
Great to see your writing Matt. Reading your post made me think of one more thing - permission to disappear.
The majority of what I wrote in LWS writers hours were journal entries. While comforting, it frustrated me that that was all the writing I could bring myself to do, despite having a bigger writing project. It felt to me like I was cos playing as a writer.
I’m still part of the LWS community but I gave myself permission to disappear, let my feet take me places, to find physical writing spaces away from home just for me, and really define my project by allowing my heart to speak. My notebooks are full of half written sentences, word clouds and brainstorms. And those journal entries, they never went away.
The bigger project is now slowly taking shape, a good few years after inception. I realise that all those ‘false starts’, journal entries and word clouds were all necessary excavation for what was there all along.
It's the Eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the creative fight, rising up to the challenge of our writing,🎶🐯📚. This really resonated with me, and reminded me of the quiet power of persistence.
Matt, this is so generous. It feels like someone resetting the internal compass.
You are such a remarkable cheerleader for other writers, so it's downright thrilling to see you step back onto the page yourself and share your own thinking again.
(Also very honored to play even a tiny part in how you think about writing!)
I love this, Matt. It’s so helpful to me. I have battled all my life with this one thing that is the only true ‘feeling-fully-alive’ thing that I want to do. You are not alone with your own writerly struggles. And thanks to you and Parul and Lindsey and other special people on LWS, I know that I am not alone either. LWS is a wonderful thing. Thank you!
13. Don't spend more than two percent of your precious writing time reading about rules and practices for writing. The other ninety-eight must be actual writing or thinking that leads to writing. I fail at this constantly because it is so alluring to keep searching for that universal answer on how to write. Well, the answer, as always, is: Write.
Lately, my goals are less about “achieving” and more about being, experiencing, and living. This post feels like a little wink from the universe, validating what I’ve been choosing and learning about myself.
I really appreciate the way you shared a balance of practical and existential perspectives. And I loved seeing some of my favorites, like Seth Godin and Joe Dispenza, referenced.
Thank you for such a refreshing read, and for all you do for the LWS community (and the world!).
Great to see your writing Matt. Reading your post made me think of one more thing - permission to disappear.
The majority of what I wrote in LWS writers hours were journal entries. While comforting, it frustrated me that that was all the writing I could bring myself to do, despite having a bigger writing project. It felt to me like I was cos playing as a writer.
I’m still part of the LWS community but I gave myself permission to disappear, let my feet take me places, to find physical writing spaces away from home just for me, and really define my project by allowing my heart to speak. My notebooks are full of half written sentences, word clouds and brainstorms. And those journal entries, they never went away.
The bigger project is now slowly taking shape, a good few years after inception. I realise that all those ‘false starts’, journal entries and word clouds were all necessary excavation for what was there all along.
Thanks for this super comprehensive post! Going to restack for own reminders. 🙏
This is definitely a keeper. So many pearls of wisdom here. I can’t wait to read your first published book!
Aw thanks Niki!
It's the Eye of the Tiger, it's the thrill of the creative fight, rising up to the challenge of our writing,🎶🐯📚. This really resonated with me, and reminded me of the quiet power of persistence.
What a great post 👏🏼👏🏼
Such a great post!!