Mo, Thank You! I see you. I am also a creature of time (5 AM) and space (my house lol) where writing finds me consistently. I hear you. It is hard to always be creative especially when outcomes creep into it. Just know when you write, I’ll be here to read. I loved your first book. I look forward to the next one. I am also the child of an immigrant in a strange new land. You are courageous, honest and vulnerable. Thats leadership. Bless you.
I don't think writing comes easy to anyone. All writers have their struggles, and those struggles make us better writers.
What caught me by surprise in this piece was how you jumped from the Gibran quote
“There is no deeper desire than the desire of being revealed.”
... to
'So market I must.'
There is nothing to say that 'revealing' means publishing a weekly blog (for example)
“There is no deeper desire than the desire of being revealed.” means (in my mind) first and foremost that some deeper knowledge within us wants to be revealed ~ to ourselves. Often the struggle is tied up with expectations and assumptions we have about ourselves.
Writing itself is self-revelation.
Whenever I hit a dump on my writing journey I have found Proprioceptive Writing the most helpful method to pull me out of the mud. You might enjoy this too. Here's a link https://pwriting.org/
Thank you for sharing your struggles and insights, Mo. I've been wrestling with the same thing for years. Your words encourage me to be more vulnerable, honest, and courageous. I once represented a novelist who had written 40+ books. One day we were talking about how hard writing is and he told me, "Kaiser, you can't write for other people. You'll burn out. You have to write to discover, to wrestle with yourself."
I'll never forget what he told me next.
"If you can scream at the page, if you're lucky, some people might hear a whisper of what you've found. But it always has to be for you first because that's where all the good stuff is."
Thank you for showing up, for excavating your self, and sharing what you find. I'm already looking forward to your next discovery.
Thank you! I am new to your work, but I appreciate your honest expression of the struggle behind the art. I think you eloquently described a universal principle that is often overlooked. When it comes to offering our gift to the world, there’s always an obstacle that must be overcome. True, that which comes naturally to us, seems to be easy, but if we do not face and overcome the obstacle required to offer that gift's destiny will never be realized. I’ve already been blessed by your work and in stand in the crowd, daring you on to victory in your biggest fight! Blessings
Your writing has blessed my life. Your adoration for other writers is inspiring,and yes, in someone else’s eyes, you also write like Cusk & F*cking Bukowski 😉…
Mo, writing is hard. I'm also a fairly avid runner and I see so many parallels between writing and running. I never really want to "go" running, just like I never really want to "start" writing something. I know it's going to require a certain amount of physical/mental energy to be expended and I'd much rather procrastinate it off into oblivion and spend that time watching YouTube instead... But then guilt gets the best of me and I reluctantly get out there and get started, and it still sucks, but every now and then the pieces seem to magically fall into place and I get locked-in to that runner's or writer's high where I've achieved a few moments of flow-state, everything is clicking, and I'm working off of pure elation.
Chasing the high is why I still choose to both run and write. Sure there are days, sometimes months that go by where I fall into a funk and just don't do it... and that's a totally normal part of the process. But even during those lulls, we're still writers. Sometimes you plateau out and need to step away for a little while and come back with rested muscles and a fresh new approach. Maybe that's just what you need right now.
Like others mentioned, we'll be here whenever you decide to return.
I really enjoyed reading this , as it resonated in so many ways . Loved this quote…
There's a guy in my head, and all he wants to do is lay in bed all day long, smoke pot, and watch old movies and cartoons. My life is a series of stratagems, to avoid, and outwit that guy.”—Anthony Bourdain But then I love everything I have seen by Anthony Bourdain. Thank You
I don't think anyone finds it easy to write. Otherwise everyone would be doing it.
i also have my early morning set up and creative time and like you, if I for some reason can't connect to that time I feel a lack of direction and passion all day. This morning for instance I got up at 4am instead of 5am as I need to drive my son to University early. It is so important to me I still fit in that soul time that it is worth the early hour for me. :-)
Check out https://www.consciousmarketer.com/. They are soul full marketers. Have a listen to someo of their pod casts if you have a chance. They speak to people who hate marketing because they can't see how it aligns with their conscious soul fuelled values.
‘At present, the greatest minds are working to distract us, pacify us, and make us more conventional. They want to relieve us from doing the HARD THINGS.’
So too do our ancient brains conspire to keep us comfortable…
I love this, and your transparency about the fight to do what’s hard because it’s also deeply valuable—to you. We can write to connect with others AND ourselves. The two are nowhere near mutually exclusive. Both are at times terrifyingly hard, discouraged by our current culture of comfort.
Thank you for this, Mo! Seconding @jamiemillard1 here… that’s leadership.
Mo, Thank You! I see you. I am also a creature of time (5 AM) and space (my house lol) where writing finds me consistently. I hear you. It is hard to always be creative especially when outcomes creep into it. Just know when you write, I’ll be here to read. I loved your first book. I look forward to the next one. I am also the child of an immigrant in a strange new land. You are courageous, honest and vulnerable. Thats leadership. Bless you.
I don't think writing comes easy to anyone. All writers have their struggles, and those struggles make us better writers.
What caught me by surprise in this piece was how you jumped from the Gibran quote
“There is no deeper desire than the desire of being revealed.”
... to
'So market I must.'
There is nothing to say that 'revealing' means publishing a weekly blog (for example)
“There is no deeper desire than the desire of being revealed.” means (in my mind) first and foremost that some deeper knowledge within us wants to be revealed ~ to ourselves. Often the struggle is tied up with expectations and assumptions we have about ourselves.
Writing itself is self-revelation.
Whenever I hit a dump on my writing journey I have found Proprioceptive Writing the most helpful method to pull me out of the mud. You might enjoy this too. Here's a link https://pwriting.org/
Thank you for sharing your struggles and insights, Mo. I've been wrestling with the same thing for years. Your words encourage me to be more vulnerable, honest, and courageous. I once represented a novelist who had written 40+ books. One day we were talking about how hard writing is and he told me, "Kaiser, you can't write for other people. You'll burn out. You have to write to discover, to wrestle with yourself."
I'll never forget what he told me next.
"If you can scream at the page, if you're lucky, some people might hear a whisper of what you've found. But it always has to be for you first because that's where all the good stuff is."
Thank you for showing up, for excavating your self, and sharing what you find. I'm already looking forward to your next discovery.
Thank you! I am new to your work, but I appreciate your honest expression of the struggle behind the art. I think you eloquently described a universal principle that is often overlooked. When it comes to offering our gift to the world, there’s always an obstacle that must be overcome. True, that which comes naturally to us, seems to be easy, but if we do not face and overcome the obstacle required to offer that gift's destiny will never be realized. I’ve already been blessed by your work and in stand in the crowd, daring you on to victory in your biggest fight! Blessings
Your writing has blessed my life. Your adoration for other writers is inspiring,and yes, in someone else’s eyes, you also write like Cusk & F*cking Bukowski 😉…
No pressure just a compliment.
Sending light sending strength
I’ll always recall the joy I feel when doing something I love. 💯
Mo, writing is hard. I'm also a fairly avid runner and I see so many parallels between writing and running. I never really want to "go" running, just like I never really want to "start" writing something. I know it's going to require a certain amount of physical/mental energy to be expended and I'd much rather procrastinate it off into oblivion and spend that time watching YouTube instead... But then guilt gets the best of me and I reluctantly get out there and get started, and it still sucks, but every now and then the pieces seem to magically fall into place and I get locked-in to that runner's or writer's high where I've achieved a few moments of flow-state, everything is clicking, and I'm working off of pure elation.
Chasing the high is why I still choose to both run and write. Sure there are days, sometimes months that go by where I fall into a funk and just don't do it... and that's a totally normal part of the process. But even during those lulls, we're still writers. Sometimes you plateau out and need to step away for a little while and come back with rested muscles and a fresh new approach. Maybe that's just what you need right now.
Like others mentioned, we'll be here whenever you decide to return.
I really enjoyed reading this , as it resonated in so many ways . Loved this quote…
There's a guy in my head, and all he wants to do is lay in bed all day long, smoke pot, and watch old movies and cartoons. My life is a series of stratagems, to avoid, and outwit that guy.”—Anthony Bourdain But then I love everything I have seen by Anthony Bourdain. Thank You
What a great post, thank you, Mo. I share so many of your challenges. Also love Cusk. She is a master.
Thanks for sharing your struggles Mo.
I don't think anyone finds it easy to write. Otherwise everyone would be doing it.
i also have my early morning set up and creative time and like you, if I for some reason can't connect to that time I feel a lack of direction and passion all day. This morning for instance I got up at 4am instead of 5am as I need to drive my son to University early. It is so important to me I still fit in that soul time that it is worth the early hour for me. :-)
Check out https://www.consciousmarketer.com/. They are soul full marketers. Have a listen to someo of their pod casts if you have a chance. They speak to people who hate marketing because they can't see how it aligns with their conscious soul fuelled values.
Also, I always find https://stevenpressfield.com/ inspiring.
There is such relief in knowing all writers experience the same struggles.
May you find a way to get back to your early morning sacred space. The world needs it! 🙏
‘At present, the greatest minds are working to distract us, pacify us, and make us more conventional. They want to relieve us from doing the HARD THINGS.’
So too do our ancient brains conspire to keep us comfortable…
I love this, and your transparency about the fight to do what’s hard because it’s also deeply valuable—to you. We can write to connect with others AND ourselves. The two are nowhere near mutually exclusive. Both are at times terrifyingly hard, discouraged by our current culture of comfort.
Thank you for this, Mo! Seconding @jamiemillard1 here… that’s leadership.