‘Is it worth it?’

‘Tell me I can.’

‘Not sure why I’m doing this.’

‘There are so many books out there, why will mine matter?’

As a writing mentor, I field these apprehensions from writers every day. I wish I had a magic pass I could dispense to dissolve these angsts because they get in the way of writing, the way a bouncer does at the entrance to a club.

If it’s any consolation, all of us engaged in a creative pursuit tilt around these anxieties. Some of us manage the wobble better than others. Some of us are more practiced at finding the centre. But trust me, we’re all tuned into the silent whine in our inner ear of: ‘Is it worth it?’

This raises the question, what does ‘worth it’ mean?

If by ‘worth’ we are asking: will I get published? The answer is, ‘there are no guarantees.’

If we’re asking, ‘will I make money?’ again, no guarantees, and probably not much.

If we mean ‘will people read this?’ again, who knows? We have no control over what happens to our writing when it goes out into the world.

But if by ‘worth it’ we’re asking, ‘Will I learn something valuable about myself? Will I create something beautiful? Will I create something worthy and of value?’

The answers are YES YES and you better believe it, YES.

If ‘is it worth it?’ means ‘is it worth finishing?’ Of course, YES. What the finished manuscript looks like, is up to you. Work hard. Make it beautiful. Let it shine with the time, effort and energy you have invested in it.

That’s what makes it worth it.