📉 The Only Way to Fail is to Quit

Salaam friends,

Ta-Nehisi Coates once shared a piece of advice he received from an experienced writer when he was just starting out. The writer told him if he sticks around long enough, he will notice that most of the aspiring writers around him will find the path too hard to stay and end up in business school or doing something else. So that by the time one is in his mid-age, she/he will be a better writer and have less competition. Because writing a single story can take months or years, and it is not always easy.

But what is a writer? A few years ago I thought writers were people who have a published book or story that affirms who they identified as. In reality anyone who claims to be a writer is a writer. Anyone with a journal, a to-do list, a letter, or a written word is a writer. But there are a few who perceive writing as an obligation, a vocation, and a tool of expression; people who treat it like a living organism that has its own entity. People who wrestle with the form, structure, characters, sentences, and words.

There is nothing righteous about being a writer, but I admire experienced writers who have been at it for so long. They usually have a sense of deep wisdom and a humble look at life. The process is mostly fruitless and beats down every bit of one’s ego, regardless of how good they are. There is nothing glamorous about it, just a constant return to the page over and over again. This is why when I don’t feel like writing, which is often, I try to imagine what avoiding to write will make me in ten years. I could still be working on the same project, circling around and around without making real progress due to my procrastination. I could stop writing altogether and run the podcast. This would feel like I gave up on a dream prematurely. This negative guilt works better than imagining myself behind a podium delivering a speech after winning some prestigious award. It lowers my expectations and creates a desire to do the work for the work and not for the accolades. Of course, there is so much more to life than writing, and we need to learn how to forgive ourselves. We are nothing but a bridge between generations, and our duty is to tell stories that show our kids what life was like for us. So that they might grow and tell their stories to the generation after them.

📖 Books I’m reading?

I’m very excited to start reading fiction again…. I have a few books in mind, will share what I decide on next week.

Clips I’m rewatching?

This is the clip from the introduction paragraph to this newsletter with Ta-Nehisi Coates. I must have watched this clip tens of times. I return to it often, because it puts me in perspective and gives me a reality check about the writer's journey.

💎 New From Me

I published a blog post about MFA degrees and whether writers need one to become better. I answer questions like What is an MFA?, Will an MFA Improve Your Writing?, Is an MFA Necessary to Become a Good Writer?

Enjoy 😊

🔖 Quote I’m pondering

“Discipline, love, luck, but, most of all, endurance.”

                     — James Baldwin

📸 Through My Lens

Please give me feedback on the newsletter by replying to this email. What do you want more or less of? Or other suggestions?

Thank you for reading. Stay Creative!

Mohamed