Here’s a reality that I need to share with you in this blog. Being a writer and author is a gift and a curse and I’m going to explain why. I had a love/hate relationship with writing for 20 years, it was something I just did for fun and to get women (I’m not gonna lie). I was the guy who wrote romantic stuff and the more intense stuff (if you know what I mean) and it was fun to get reactions from women.
When I started at the age of 13, it was poetry and regular stuff with life. As I got older, it became more of what I’m seeing in the world, my own experiences but I never held onto the thought of writing with more intent and purpose. My love poetry never garnered major attention, it was for women I liked or were interested in.
Publishing my first book at age 33 made the floodgates of ideas come to me and then it was off to the race. That’s when my gift became a curse (in a way). I’m not saying that I’m not appreciative of the gift I was blessed with. What I am saying is that my gift led me to 8 years of non-stop writing where I felt that every single idea that came to me had to be published.
It wasn’t until the burnout hit with writing, editing, formatting, book covers, book synopsis, publishing the book, pricing, marketing, writing blogs, recording podcasts, doing audiobooks, that I realized I needed a break. Being gifted and good at things can take a toll on you in every way possible.
When you can’t fall asleep because a book idea came to you or you’re in the middle of eating and an idea comes to you. Or when you have a thought-provoking conversation with someone and it sparks an idea and you have to get it written down either in a notebook or in your notes on your phone. It’s a never ending journey of ideas, notes, organization and embracing the marathon.
Book ideas come to be at the most random times and that can be tiring. I can be watching a documentary, a movie, and boom, an idea for a book comes to me. There’s a good seventy notes in my phone of book ideas that I have. My reality is, a good amount of them will become books and a lot of them won’t.
Here’s the next aspect of this…you can’t ignore the ideas that come. It’ll stay with me until I open my phone and put in some notes. A lot of them I don’t get to go back to for months and sometimes years. Pretty crazy right? Yeah, that’s my life in a nutshell, the constant grind of new content being created.
People tell me that it's a good thing that I’ll never run out of ideas for books on social issues. Sometimes, I do want it to stop for just a little while. There’s a need for a break from all of it, easier said than done. I’m still writing my blogs so I’ll admit, I don’t take many days off from content creation.
The journey of being a writer is not easy, especially when you love it and are consistent at doing it. I don’t see myself not writing, it’s something that I’m meant to do no matter what it is. Whether it’s publishing a book, writing a blog, writing poetry, it’s part of me and my life for the foreseeable future.
That’s my blog for today, thanks for reading, be good and go accomplish your goals!
Jamell Crouthers
Aquarianmind
Write a comment