Control what you can
Focus on what you can influence, not on what you can't
Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE # 217
If you’re a new writer and you’re wasting energy on things you can’t control, you’re sabotaging yourself before you even start.
You cannot control algorithms or trends, and you certainly can’t control whether some nut job troll on Twitter thinks your prose is trash.
Obsessing over these things (particularly the opinions of other people who are not doing what you’re doing) won’t make you a better writer. It’ll just make you anxious, resentful, or worse—paralyzed.
What you can control and what you need to focus on instead, is as follows:
Your output: you need to write as often and as consistently as you can. Not when inspiration strikes. Not when you feel “ready.” Regularly.
Your input: read, and do it voraciously. Study what works. Analyze what does not work and learn from it. Steal (ethically). And fill your mind with rocket fuel.
Your improvement: write hot and and fast and then go back and edit ruthlessly. Seek feedback from other writers whose work you admire. Instead of simply dreaming the dream, invest time and effort in honing your craft. Most other wannabe writers won’t do this—any of it—but you will and it will become your superpower.
Your attitude: show up stubbornly. Be relentless. Reject self-pity. Laugh at writer’s block. Embrace the grind. day in. Day out. Morning, noon, and night.
The freedom of letting go
Worrying about external validation, overnight success, or some mythical “big break” is like shouting at the weather.
It changes nothing.
Worse, it distracts you from the only thing that does matter—putting your time and effort into the task at hand: writing.
The writers who break through, who stay the course are not the ones with the most talent or luck, or the best agent or the most sales of books, scripts, or whatever.
No.
They’re the ones who focus on the thing that’s in front of them: the next sentence, the next revision, the next edit or change. The next small win.
Victories don’t come in shiny, glossy wrappers, all neatly tied up with a glistening bow. They come in small packages: little by little, sentence by sentence.
So control what you can—which for you is your willingness to grind on, endlessly, even without thanks, even without recognition, for weeks, months, perhaps even for years. Let the rest go. Stop comparing yourself to others. You’re not them. Their reality isn’t yours. Focus on your output.
Because really—what’s the point in fretting over anything else?
As always, thanks for reading.
—Gar
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.