This post by James Chartrand originally appeared on Men With Pens on 1/5/15.
We all know how we’d like to feel when we write.
We want to be transcendent. We want to craft breathtakingly compelling content that brings us piles of comments and eager new clients. We want words to flow from our fingers and magically appear on the page, dashing genius from our brows after four hours of taking dictation from gods on high.
We just don’t want to do the work it takes to get there.
That’s the problem with writers.
I can’t tell you how many people in my writing course, Damn Fine Words, tell me that they want to use the class to elevate their writing. To master it. To bend words to their will.
They want to be completely unique. They want to write something new and exciting. They want to find a voice that’s all their own. They want to succeed.
There’s nothing wrong with that ambition. In fact, I encourage it. But it’s often painfully clear that some people are trying to tackle a level of mastery that’s far above their current capabilities.
They’re trying to skip the first step – the boring one, the one where you have to learn the basics and fundamentals. They want to cut to the head of the line, where they get to try cool new things.
Here’s the truth about writing:
There are no shortcuts. You can’t leapfrog your way to mastery.
You have to put in the work.
The 4 Stages of Mastery
Read the full post on Men With Pens.