What I've Learned As A Professional Writer (Lesson #15)

What I've learned as a professional writer: Don't be precious.

As a professional writer, you cannot be precious with your work. When you hand a project whether it is a blog post or a whole book, you are going to receive feedback. A few words can be changed or a whole section of your book can be completely removed, and you won't be able to do anything about it. Don't be precious with your work means detaching your personal self from the project. It doesn't mean not caring about the finished product, but rather understand that what you made might not be as great as you think it is. As an artist or a craftsperson, you are going to encounter feedback and criticism. You are going to face unrealistic deadlines and have unclear directions. You cannot be a perfectionist. To do and finish is to learn. I take this lesson with me whenever I create anything. It's freeing when you are not precious. It's freeing to know that I'll get to do more work soon. I wrote so many short stories, made so many videos, and done so many things... most of them not successful, but I finished and I learned something. You can do it as well, but only if you lose your ego.

These are lessons that stem from my own personal experience and I am certainly not telling you how you should live your life. We all have different values and philosophy, and I know I don't know how to be a human being any better than you. I chose to take on this little exercise as I approach 30 because I thought that would be a suitable point... 30 is a dramatic age after all. Nevertheless, however old you are, I encourage you to think of little lessons you have learned and maybe compile a list. It has been a very interesting experience... like spending a day hanging out with the younger version of yourself. It's like your brain is playing old home videos. I think you might just surprise yourself with what you remember. My 20s have been a thrilling adventure, as I'm sure yours will be, are, or have been... Still, I'm looking forward to my 30s, I think this is the decade where I'll really come into my own.
Me: https://elliotchan.com/

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Видео What I've Learned As A Professional Writer (Lesson #15) канала Elliot Chan