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ŷ asked Becky Benishek:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Becky Benishek Stop thinking that you need to start writing. Stop saying you'll do it. If you can, stop thinking you need to stop thinking about it! Because then you'll find yourself ACTUALLY doing it.

It's like exercise. The thought of it is kind of meh. Yet once you're doing it, it's not bad! It feels pretty good! But you almost have to trick yourself into not thinking about yourself anymore, because we're just a bit too good at finding reasons not to do stuff. When you write, you're not thinking about the "I" in the back of your head.

Edit along the way if you must, but don't let it slow you down. Then walk away from your creation for a little bit and let it percolate, let it ripple.

And then come back to it. You may not like it anymore. I always go through an "I hate this" stage at some point. That's where you still absolutely must send it to someone else to read. Don't hover over them while they're doing it. Don't influence their impressions. Let what they say encourage you to go on.

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