Should Writers Give Up?

How many times have you thought, or said aloud, that you are going to give up writing? It happens to many a good writer. Think of all the reasons that make you feel that way. 

Here's a partial list: 

• You read a finished piece and think it stinks. 
• You submit a story half a dozen times and all that you get are rejections.
• You proofread a finished story or essay and wonder why there are so many errors.
• You see little to no progress in your writing.
• Your critique group offers more negatives than positives.
• You keep writing the same thing over and over, don't come up with a fresh view.
• Your work is filled with passive verbs and no sensory details so it seems blah.
• You don't care about the mechanics of writing, just the story so it gets rejected many times.
• You can't be bothered with writing exercises to help you grow as a writer.
• You won't attend a writing workshop or conference to learn more about your craft.

Every one of the problems in the list above can be solved. And yes, you are allowed to vent your frustration. Go ahead and do what the poster tells us--scream or cry. Maybe even throw something. You're also allowed to walk away for a short break--hours or even days. 

The one thing you should not do is give up. If you truly want to be a writer, you need to keep working at improving. Nothing happens overnight. Athletes practice hours and hours for years to make it in the professional arenas. Well, guess what? Writers need to do the same thing. There's a reason you often hear this piece of advice for writers--Don't quit your day job. We don't become an overnight success. 

If your desire to write is strong enough, you won't give up. That's not to say you won't get angry, frustrated or depressed now and then? I have. Other writers have. And so will you! 

Go back to the list and decide which points you've had to deal with. Ask yourself how each of those problems can be solved. Then work on them one by one. 

If instead, you choose to quit writing, you may regret it. Besides that, the itch to write again may be more irritating than whatever it was that caused you to quit. Why waste all that you've already put into your writing journey? 

Because it's important, I'll repeat this one more time--Please don't give up.