ILB Writing Club

It took me a week to get around to this, but thank you tt! For your honest reply and for sharing that essay/article, I enjoyed reading that. "I have accomplished an enormous number of important things as a way of not working on it." The quote you pulled, and this one especially, rings awfully true (or rather: I should tell myself that more often). Crushing insecurity is, of course, the biggest factor at play here, and it's a multi-headed beast. It can make me put off writing, it can make me hate what I wrote, it can make me put things off, it can even make excuses for myself when not writing when I really should. (taking a step back and reading this makes me go #smdh, but it feels inescapable to feel these things while working on my book? Most other times it just feels like I'm whining, but that's on me)

It seems like you found a very supportive, encouraging network you can fall back on when needed. It sounds like something I'd sign up for to be frank! But then a million negatives kick in - well, not only negatives, also some dumb convictions like feeling alone and inept and struggling is part of the job? There's a masochist element to it, for sure.
How did you get on? Did you manage to write something nearly every day? Was writing a book your goal and did you more or less follow up on that, or was it worth your while if only for the writing exercise?

(the publisher, of course, was very understanding and supportive. there are some practical issues affected by my stalling, like him applying for grants/funds and having to delay that, changing schedules with the designer of the book etc. [I say these things coolly but they make me go 'holy fuck this is realllll' lol] it will be... ok. -ish ;) )

When writing both saves you and hurts you.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/commentisfree/2023/jan/30/my-mentor-john-hughes-taught-me-how-to-write-then-he-plagiarised-my-work?