My Love/Hate Relationship With Writing by Maria Lacey

 

 

 

Our first guest blogger of summer is the delightful Maria Lacey! Here she talks about the unique relationships all writers seem to have with their work. Thanks for joining us today, Maria!-- Mary Ann

 

 

I'm a writer, and I hate writing.  

 

 

Now give me a chance to explain myself. I love when I'm done writing, when it finally seems like I have no need to edit and the product is finally finished and looks good. What I don't love is the process it takes to get to that point, but I don't hate it either. The process is just a giant pain that I have to endure in order to fully enjoy the act of writing. 

 

The way I see it, every writer kind of hates writing. There's always some part of the process that you don't like, whether it be brainstorming for ideas or editing a draft (personally I find it hard to even start writing).  

 

It's hard work. Writing is not always enjoyable, but I have found that writing through the painful bits is the best way to get rid of the not-so-fun parts of writing.  

 

It sucks when you are stuck in your writing - it's not turning out the way it should, or you don't even have anything to show for your two hour brainstorming session. But that's kind of the beauty of writing. It's all about the process, and I swear writing is just like giving birth to a baby (even though I have no experience with giving birth and I'm sure that is much, much more painful that what writers do). It hurts to push that thing out, but once it is out, you love what you've made.  

 

That's why I keep writing, even if parts of the process really frustrate me. As much as I complain and whine about the hardship of being a writer, it is so satisfying to finally finish something, step away from it, and think, This is good.    

 

To all my fellow writers, keep writing, even if it is painful and stressful, because in the end you can create something from absolutely nothing. Getting whatever is in your head down on paper is not an easy process, but it is worth it. So take the easy parts with the hard parts, and remember that even if the process is frustrating, it can also be very rewarding.     

 

 

 

 About the author:

Maria Lacey has a BA in English from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is a freelance writer who currently resides in Las Vegas with her family. You can learn more about her at www.mlaceywriting.com.