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Noor Rahman's avatar

I also subscribe to Mark’s “suffering we choose” philosophy and it was pivotal in my choice to quit law and pursue fiction writing. I can see how that paradigm could get lost when success finds you. Thanks for the reminder to focus on process and the fact of doing rather than the result.

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Kim Jasmin's avatar

Loved reading this! I’ve been writing for quite some years now because I’ve always wanted to write. When I put out my first German blogpost two years ago and then through that landed a monthly column in a German magazine, the response was great, overwhelming. After the positive feedback slowly withdrew, the motivation to write my blogposts also faded. Who did I write for anyway? Nobody was interested ins anything I had to say, right? So why make the effort if there was no response? At the same time, the motivation to finish writing my novel that I had been working on for quite some years faded gradually, too.

I didn’t even realise what had been happening until I was reminded to try and write for writing‘s sake, not for the feedback. Because writing is what o wanna do more than anything, it’s what I enjoy. Also I’ve been told, if you’re not your biggest fan promoting all of the pieces you write, why should others?

So that really led me back to my purpose. Be my own biggest fan, do it to do it.

Tiny steps, but I’m getting there. So I see what you did there… thanks for the reminder. “Be the outcome“ is probably one of the most important writing advice ever.

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