I can appreciate what you’re saying. It’s tiring rhetoric. The truth is that the widespread criticism of writing when you feel like it, in my view, usually comes from aspirational writers. These are writers who read it somewhere else and think it’s an idea worth spreading without really getting down and dirty with it. There’s little time spent getting to know the practice.

A balance of focus is required to produce quality creative work — I wrote about this today. I happen to think that taking ourselves to our desks to write every day, even if we don’t publish, is a good idea because the more we write, the better we get. A vital aspect of this, and this is an important distinction, is the feeling that accompanies the work. Are we feeling pressured and uptight about writing today, or are we excited and enthusiastic?

The difference in output quality is night and day. I enjoy writing. It’s an engaging and meaningful form of self-expression for me and so making time for it is not a hassle. That’s not the same for everyone.

Our relationship with the work and with ourselves is the leading influencer in the quality of our work. Uninvited opinions of others and articles contrary to what we inherently feel about the work shouldn’t matter. They lead us astray.

Thanks for writing!