Revealing A Few Things About Writing

Over at AWP Writer, sharing ten things about what I do and don’t do as a writer. You can read the full article here. Below, an excerpt:

#3. Hard Work. Apparently, I don’t do it. I admire those that do, and feel certain pangs of self-doubt when I imagine that if only I worked as hard as my friends did, I could perhaps write better books. If only I could dissect each sentence repeatedly, read every Paris Review interview and then apply all the kernels of wisdom to my own craft, nay, if I could think of writing in terms of hard work, then I could be truly good. I don’t do these things. I cringe when I hear other writers making statements about how difficult this work is, how much we have to struggle, how deep our inner angst as we strive for perfection. It comes from having grown up in the midst of hardship. Writing does not strike me as qualifying. Unpaid or poorly paid work? Yes. Mostly unrecognized and unlauded work? Yes. Maddening and frustrating work? Sometimes. But hard? No.