9 Best Feeling Moments for Writers
1. Developing an Idea
Most writers can most likely relate to this moment and probably know exactly what I am talking about. Think about all the times you felt like writing something, but had no idea what to write. It can be frustrating and honestly annoying. You're racking your brain for new fresh ideas and coming up blank. If I'm being sincere, I have, on multiple occasions, been in this idealess phase for days on end. You might start to write something, but it just doesn't feel new enough or interesting enough for you. You sit and stare at walls hoping they will jump in and suggest an idea (this might just be me tho). You even go online looking for writing prompts and plots, but everything you see just is not attractive. You just cannot see yourself writing about a princess that gets saved by an ogre (...that might be Shrek, but idk). So, what do you do? You sit and stare at your computer, notebook, or whatever you use to write for a little bit longer, hoping that the words will just form themselves at this point. Then finally, it hits you like Mike Tyson with a left hook. An idea! A new, fresh, and delicious plan just popped into your mind. These types of ideas always fill your mind, and you can't seem to get the words written or typed fast enough. The engines in your brain are churning after being stalled for so long. There's a feeling of relief and joy. You can finally do what you love to do and, even better, write something you love as well!
2. Clarity After Writer's Block
This one is similar to the last, but honestly, it's like ten times more satisfying. Imagine this: You're working on an essay for school, and your professor/teacher wants it to be longer in length. So far, so good. You have been hitting some good points, and everything seems to be going well. You just finished a paragraph, and you're onto the next one. You press the enter button, and boom! Nothing at all. Nada. Not a thing. Your brain has gone completely blank. No thoughts at all. You have run headfirst into a brick wall. Here comes the feeling of dread as you realize that you literally have no idea what's happening anymore. What happened just now? Everything was going so well for you. Suddenly, you can't even come up with one word to write. Not a single one. Your brain is so clouded that the only clear thought is one that says, "Give up, loser." Don't even pretend that you're not considering it. I know you are. Maybe you're even sitting here reading this because you currently have writer's block and you're avoiding dealing with your work right now. How embarrassing. Couldn't be me (this is 100% definitely me in every way possible). Now comes the time where you sit and stare at your essay once again, hoping that words will just write themselves. I promise you, they won't. Trust me, I've tried for years to get them to do that. You don't know how long you've been sitting there staring at your essay. An hour, three hours, two days, seven months, or maybe it's been 57 years, and your grandkids are wondering why you never play with them. Then suddenly, a little sunlight peeks through the clouds in your brain. It's not much, but it's something. The immediate relief you feel as you begin to write the half-formed idea that's trying to become more. So satisfying. You may get to play with your grandkids yet.
3. Reaching a Milestone
Milestones are a "reference point that marks a major event," or at least that's what the little box on Google said it was. So, I'm going to talk about it based on this definition. Let me take you back in time when things were simpler. The year is 2008, and a young writer has begun her journey in the world of literacy (just in case you're wondering, no, she wasn't functioning back then either). She's writing a short story called Pinky Pretzel©, and she has many ideas for the protagonist, Pinky. So, she keeps writing more and more. The young, barely functioning writer realizes something. She has somehow managed to accidentally write a series of short stories. Her goal was to have ten short stories about Pinky's adventures, and she had already written five. A milestone! This was huge for the young writer. She ran and told her grandma of this achievement. Her grandma was just as excited for the nonfunctioning, young writer as the young writer was for herself. I tell you this story to display that hitting a milestone is a big deal and you should be excited and honestly proud of yourself. You're well on your way to great things. Plus, that story is just adorable, right? (the correct answer is yes).
4. Being Complimented on your Work
Yo, I don't even know how to describe the feeling you get when this happens. Euphoria, maybe? You took the risk to put yourself out there, and it paid off. When someone says to you, "I really enjoyed what you wrote. It's terrific." or "Wait, you wrote this? It's so good!" you just feel accomplished. It might just be a family member or a close friend, but I know that writers put their heart and soul into what they write. They feel attached to their works even if they think it isn't their best. So when someone compliments your work, the compliment hits much more profound than a person saying it probably intended. Personally, one of my favorite things to do is support other writers. Writing can be a long, challenging, and tedious process, and just having one person say that your writing gave them some enjoyment or happiness is so rewarding. Please take the time to support some upcoming, new writers and longstanding writers! One person recognizing the writer's work can make that writer feel appreciated and give them the motivation to keep writing.
5. Starting a New Work
This is one of the simpler joys in a writer's life and, honestly, any creative's life. You may have just finished something you were working on for a while, or maybe you need a break from something you're still working on. Whatever the reason may be, starting a new work can be rejuvenating and good for you. Sometimes when you're working on one thing for an extended time, you can get burnt out or just plain bored of it. That's why starting something new feels so good. You get to work with fresh ideas that feel new and interesting. The only risk with starting something new is that you may forget or give up on what you were previously working on, but done right, creating a new work can actually allow you to come up with some fresh ideas for the older piece. You gave your brain a break from it and let yourself think of new things, leading to you thinking of a good idea for the older work. This unique idea brings excitement, motivation, and freshness back to the piece of work. Restoring that feeling of freshness can make the original piece of writing feel fun to write. Realizing that you are enjoying what you're writing is one of the best moments out there because it reminds you why you started writing in the first place.
6. Seeing the Progress You've Made
I recently experienced this while finishing a semester at college, and it felt so good. Occasionally, I'll look back on things that I have written in past years and think to myself, "I wrote this trash? Oh nah baby, that ain't gonna work." Then I'll look at things I have written more recently and think to myself, "Wow. I'm literally the most talented person in the world." That feeling of knowing that your skills have improved significantly or even a little bit feels so good. It makes you feel like your not wasting your time on something you can't even get better at. See the progress you've made also lets you develop some confidence in work and yourself. You're getting better, you're progressing, and you're moving onto better things. You're advancing in your craft, and just knowing that is rewarding. Feeling stagnant can be one of the worse feelings you can have when trying to work towards something. Being stagnant can make you want to give up on everything because why try if you're not getting anywhere? I'm here to tell you if you give up on what you're passionate about, you're going to regret it. When the going gets tough, you have to be tougher. Sometimes progress stalls, but trust that it will start up again if you keep working. Motivate yourself by thinking of the times where you were progressing and getting better. Then force yourself to work and strive towards a goal you set so that you can feel accomplished again.
7. Finishing Something (Finally)
Writing something can be one of the most prolonged tasks known to man. Writing a complete story can literally years and years. Writers dedicate themselves to one piece of work for an unforeseen amount of time. They write, edit, proofread, edit some more, proofread again, and then write even more just to repeat that process again. It can be tedious and tiring, but a writer who is passionate about their work will go through that seemingly never-ending process repeatedly on everything they write. Not only does the writing have to reflect what the author's idea was, but it also has to be good. Sometimes when the writing process goes south, the writer, as is the case with me, will delete the whole entire work and start fresh just to get it exactly write. So, you can only imagine how long writing actually takes. You go through the lengthy process and finally get it to a place that indeed shows what the writer wants the reader to see. The writer checks for the 1000th time to make sure the work is perfect, and after a ludicrous amount of time, around 100 gallons of coffee, and 89 mental breakdowns later, the writing is finally complete. The relief, the pride, and the sheer joy that completion brings are unmatched. This lengthy process is why writers are so protective of their work and why I believe that we should support writers as much as we can. That one short story might have taken two times longer than it takes for a baby to be born. Think about that. A whole human was made before that writer was halfway through their story. Basically, completing something you were working on feels better than Christmas morning when you were a little kid.
8. Reading Something You Created
This kind of ties into the last one about finishing something you've been working on, but reading something that you created is such a triumphant moment. It almost feels like an out of body experience. You planned, wrote, edited, and perfected something, and now you can read it. You can explore the experience that you created, and that's just... I don't even have a word for it. It's such a simple joy. Though I won't lie to you, I have a love-hate relationship with reading things I wrote because as I'm reading, I'll come up with a better idea, remember an idea I intended to put in and forgot, or simply see something I lowkey want to change. Now I'm sitting here reading, and I'm proud, but I'm also a little annoyed. I'm thinking to myself, "It's not bad, but I could've done so much better." I feel like writers hold themselves to high standards and always feel like they can do better, but those standards are what make us produce things people might actually want to read, including ourselves. So, reading something you wrote makes you feel light like gravity just doesn't apply to you (unless your like me, aka nonfunctioning and can't stop looking for mistakes in your work).
9. Writing
So, as we come to the end of the list, you see that the last thing might be the most apparent thing writers enjoy and a highlight moment for writers. Writing. Who would think that writers enjoy writing? Not I. Writing, as frustrating as it can be, it is equally as rewarding. Writers can find comfort in their writing, and at the end of the day, it's the feeling of home and familiarity that create the best moments. Think about it. For most of us, our most fond moments involve something or someone that we are very close with. This applies to writing. Writing brings writers closer together as a community. Someone who is passionate about writing doesn't mind going through the complicated writing process because they are doing what they love. Having the ability to continually do what you love is a feeling that none other can top, so if you have something you're passionate about, pursue it. I know it can be hard sometimes depending on your circumstances, but if given the opportunity, run with it and don't stop. You'll be happy you did.