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@eden-anderson what @gabrielle-pollack said. 😉

Another thing is to realize that ‘success’ is relative. If you set yourself a goal for the goal’s sake, you’re going to get there and realize it’s not enough. There will always be another level of ‘perfection’ you can strive for— someone else to please, some critic’s good opinion to win. I’ve tried this— lemme tell you, it is not fun. 😛 Eventually you find you’re running in circles trying to please everyone, and you don’t even like writing anymore. It steals the joy right out of it.

It’s easy to do this. I still struggle with it. The tangible signs of everyone else’s success are all around you and you’re stuck without recognition or encouragement, holding yourself against their accomplishments and letting that discourage you instead of inspire you.

In the end, I’ve found that the only opinion that should matter to you is God’s. Easy to say, not so easy to live, I know. But think about your writing for a second. Think about how you love it. Think about how much poorer your life would be if you didn’t have that gift. He gave it to you. He gave it to you so you could bless others by sharing it, yes, but He also gave it to you just for you. If you never publish— if you never print— if no one but you ever reads your stories— they’re still something beautiful shared just between you and Him. Kinda like love letters. You’re giving Him back the joy He gave you by finding joy in the gift He wanted you to have. So if you think about it, in His eyes, you’ve already succeeded.

It’s tough. Discouragement comes and goes. Sometimes you’re on top of the world, other times you want to hide in your closet and not come out until people have just forgotten you exist. The only thing that will ever stay just the same about your writing is where it came from, so cling to that. I’ve found it a much steadier foundation. 😛