In the chaotic world of online writing, the choices can feel overwhelming—like standing in front of an endless buffet with no idea what to put on your plate! It’s no wonder that many aspiring writers experience paralyzing confusion when faced with all the potential paths: Should you write for profit, fame, or personal satisfaction? What if you stumble into the wrong genre, or worse, get lost in the maze of advice out there? Fear not, for clarity can emerge from the chaos. In this article, I’ll share how I’ve navigated this intricate web by honing in on key areas that can help anyone looking to sharpen their writing skills. From seeking guidance and managing feedback to setting achievable goals, let’s delve into how a narrower focus can empower your writing journey. Ready to embrace your untethered life as a wordsmith? LEARN MORE.
An Untethered Life
Take advice, absorb feedback, and set goals with a narrower field-of-view
To say that online writing is an open-ended endeavor is a dramatic understatement. You can run in virtually any direction and almost no avenues are entirely closed off. You can write for money, renown, fun, or fulfillment. You can write in any way, shape, or form. You can write occasionally or obsessively. Basically, your approach to writing is yours to mold however you see fit.
So, it’s no surprise that it can tend to be a bit intimidating. A lot of us fall into choice paralysis when we realize, upon starting this new writing thing, that we can do whatever we choose, whenever we choose to do it.
That’s why I’ve found that narrowing my focus in several key areas has been tremendously helpful for me over the past five years or so.
In this story, I’m going to write about the selective ways I approach three key issues that tend to crop up for all new writers: how to seek advice, how to deal with criticism and feedback, and how to set goals.
Everyone’s got advice
The online writing universe is full of advice. From the good to the bad, well-informed…
