So many things have been written by writers about the writing life and there’s one quote which stands out among the many for me.

‘A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.’ Thomas Mann.

A peculiar thing to say? Not really, when you consider the rollercoaster of confidence and self doubt that you read so much about from fellow writers and that I’ve experienced too.

All the technical writing and grammar knowledge in the world doesn’t seem to matter.

There are just those days when everything you write seems to shine like gold and other days when it feels like you struggle to string a decent sentence together. Or when you read yesterday’s gold, only to discover it’s no longer shining so brightly.

Please don’t get me wrong. I love writing. I’ve made a career of it – first as a journalist and now as a communications professional.

And I continue to write for pleasure – and it is a pleasure.

But what I’ve discovered since taking on my first piece of long-form writing – a memoir about my Dad’s life – is that it’s also really difficult. Harder than I realised it would be.

I have greater respect than ever for anyone who manages to complete their manuscript for a book – whether it’s published or not, it’s still a significant achievement.

As I continue to write and learn, I’m sharing my experiences and interested to connect and learn from fellow writers so please follow my blog and join the conversation.

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