If You Do This For 12 Months, Your Writing Career Will Last A Lifetime
Show up every day, and the results will speak for themselves.
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I had no idea how to react because I was paralyzed by fear. The world didn’t stop turning. People still went to work, the news kept coming, and life went on.
But my mental state improved when I started writing. It allowed me to pour everything onto paper, and that gave me some control. It also helped me to process my emotions, articulate my thoughts, and feel less alone. All those moons ago, writing was just a way to cope. I wasn’t really thinking about making a career out of it. I just needed to survive, to make sense of the world, and to not feel totally lost.
I know, I know, this sounds like one of those “I found my passion after something tragic” stories. You see it in movies or read it in memoirs all the time. The character scribbling in a notebook, figuring everything out.
But here’s the crazy thing…
The more I wrote, the more I realized writing wasn’t about getting over anything. It wasn’t about moving on or pretending everything was fine. Instead, it was about showing up, even when I had no answers, even when I didn’t know what would come next. And somehow, that became my way of staying free. Free from the pressure to have life all figured out, free from the idea that life’s tough moments need to fit into a perfect story.
I listen to The John Delony Show almost every day. He has this way of talking that feels real, like I’m sitting down with a friend over a cup of coffee, just having an honest conversation.
The other day, he said something that stuck:
“The stories we tell ourselves are the most powerful stories of all.”
Damn. I’ve never heard words so true.
When I was scared of losing my mom, it wasn’t just the cancer. It was all the what-ifs, the imagined futures I couldn’t control. Writing gave me a way to separate those fears from reality. It didn’t fix everything, but it definitely helped me see things differently.
Over time, writing became something else, too. It became my answer to what living with purpose means. I realized purpose isn’t about milestones or waiting for the right moment. It’s in the doing, in showing up and doing the work, no matter how hard life gets. After all, this story called life is mine to write, and there are hopefully many more chapters yet to come.
That’s one of the things that makes being a writer such an unconventional career. I don’t think I’ll ever retire from writing. In fact, I don’t want to. I can’t imagine stepping away from creating, from telling stories, and connecting with others through words. Because although it’s fulfilling to make money from my craft, what brings a smile to my face is showing up, good or bad, knowing that what I create will matter.
A lot of writers I speak to want instant results. They want a golden nugget of advice that will instantly give them millions of Substack subscribers or make them a New York Times bestselling author.
But the reality of building a long-term writing career isn’t so simple. Some days, you sit down at your desk and nothing comes. The words don’t flow, and your mind is full of distractions. Other days, it feels like you’re just going through the motions, unsure if what you’re doing matters at all.
The key isn’t in making every single day perfect. It’s about showing up. Even on the tough days. Especially then. It’s about writing a few lines, paragraphs, or even just brainstorming ideas. And more than anything, being consistent.
Over time, the decision to show up every day will help you to build a stunning portfolio. Because even though writing 1,000 words a day doesn’t seem like much at first, you’ll have written the equivalent of a novel in a few months. So, no matter how hard life gets, remember to keep the momentum going, and you’ll eventually build a career that lasts a lifetime.
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"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us," said Kafka. Thanks, Matt, a great article and a reminder to be my own axe.
'It’s in the doing, in showing up and doing the work, no matter how hard life gets.'
That's true....what really matters is the actual process itself and finding fulfillment from it, rather than obsessing about achieving milestones as quick as possible.
Plus, focusing more on the writing itself is far more sustainable.