[tcv]

For about two years, I wrote newspaper and magazine articles professionally. I think I did okay. I got paid and could command better pay as time went on. I found writing, in general, pretty torturous. I filled the whole process with self-doubt and angst. Blech.

The best article I wrote was for Louisiana Life. They liked it so much they put it in the Best Of edition for that year. It was also the most painful. I had wanted to create interesting segues between sections and, for the most part, I think I succeeded. But every single word was filled with self-doubt. The pain was so great, I did not feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of it, just relief.

I think that episode really showed me that I just didn't care to make it as a writer.

As a part of this discussion, some professional writers say that one thing any writer must find out about herself is whether she "wants to write" or "wants to have written." (Or neither!) For some folks, it's enough to have written one novel and she doesn't want to necessarily be a writer.