The Most Important Lesson I Learned Writing My First Book

Last year, I published my first book. Like many people, my mind is full of ideas, each one clamoring for attention. However, it's a lot of work to decide which idea is worth exploring and then turn it into a long-form piece that others will enjoy. It was fun and exciting, sprinkled with frustrations and challenges.

During this new adventure, I became so curious about what it takes to become a great writer that I started devouring every book about the craft I could get my hands on. While each provided many great insights, one recurring idea proved to be true for me while writing my book. And it's this:

Embrace The Messy Middle

I wanted it to be easy. I wanted everything I wrote to be fabulous from the start. But it wasn't. Some days, words flowed easily, and I felt like I could rival Julia Cameron. Ha, wishful thinking. On other days, I glared at my computer screen as if it were my mortal enemy, holding my creativity hostage.

No matter what kind of day I had, I kept writing. I took all the good, bad, mediocre, weird, confusing, and questionable ideas and quickly discovered that our best work is born in the messy middle. It's getting ideas out of our heads and onto the page that we discover what works and what absolutely sucks.

The messy middle is where we give ourselves permission to play, to make decisions about where to go next, and what we want our project to look and feel like in the end.

I do plan to write another book. Although I still secretly wish it were easy, I find comfort in knowing that the creative process is messy and that as long as I keep writing, I'll create something worth reading.