Try to write? There is no try…
“Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.” — Yoda
At the risk of channeling Yoda, I have been chafing a bit lately whenever I or anyone else says something like, I’m trying to write a ___________ (fill in the blank). It could be a tweet to a novel. It occurred to me that “trying to write” is the wrong attitude.
Writing is writing. You are either writing or you are not writing. You can’t try to write.
I am no longer going to say I am trying to write this or that, or even that I am “working” on writing whatever. I am going to, as Yoda advises, do or not do. I am a writer. I am going to write. Not talk about writing, not “try” to write. Not even write a blog post about writing. I need to go. Write.
They’re fancy talkers about themselves, writers. If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talk about writing or themselves.
Lillian Hellman
Interesting concept, I might have to keep this in mind next time one of my staff writers start to give excuses.