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How To Know Its Time To Quit Writing

By on May 6, 2016
How To Know Its Time To Quit Writing - Writer's Life.org

The hard truth of the matter is - not everyone is cut out to be a writer.

Now far be it from me to squash anyone’s hopes and dreams, but whether you have got what it takes to be a writer or not, actually being a successful one is not solely linked to how talented you are. There are, in fact, thousands of people all over the world who at one point or another have thought 'Let’s give this writing malarky a try', only to realise that, actually, it is not for them after all.

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Giving up on your dreams is seriously underrated. We find it hard to believe that the person that says ‘yeah I really wanted to do so and so but then I gave up and, you know what? Actually I am really happy.’

We eye them suspiciously, treat them with mistrust. How can anyone really be happy if they are not doing what they always wanted to do?

The truth is that sometimes it is OK to say enough is enough, and doing so can lead to a much happier and healthier life. It’s great to be determined, it’s great to work hard at your goals, but endless hours of frustration, rejection, self-loathing, self-pity, and stress isn’t much fun - and if that is all you are getting out of writing then surely there has to be a point when you ask yourself, can it really be worth it?

Remarkable accomplishments of course do take place, and we’ve heard many rags to riches stories, or of people finding success in writing later on in life. But these are far from the norm. If your dream of being a writer involves being a famous one then you have to be willing to accept that this might not happen - it might, but realistically only a fraction of writers land a big publishing deal that sets them on the path to fame and fortune - most barely get a look in.

If you have invested more time and money than you care to remember in your craft, perhaps it is time to reevaluate what you are doing.

Here are some signs that now is the time to give up writing:

You don’t find any joy in it anymore - when you sit down to write it feels like a struggle,  you have no motivation, and even when you do manage to get words out, you don’t get that rush of satisfaction like you used to.

You aren’t really making any effort. You used to be constantly thinking about writing, making notes, reading, researching and pitching your ideas. Now that all seems a bit pointless.

You realise that you have other goals which are far more important. Writing used to be all you cared about, and all your drive, passion and energy was taken up by making that happen. Now however, your goals have shifted, your priorities are different, your life has moved on.

You resent the time you have to spend doing it.

You are so sick of being rejected it has put you off sending your manuscripts to publishers or agents anymore.

If the above sounds like you, then perhaps it is time to change the way you look at writing, you might just need a different perspective, or to shift your writing goals.

But if you do decide that it’s time to give up writing altogether then make sure you are at peace with that. It’s not giving up on your dreams, it’s simply having different ones to follow.

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

Bethany Cadman -author of 'Doctor Vanilla's Sunflowers'

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