Plenty

I give a lot of advice to writers, but if I had to give only one piece of advice now it would be this: whether you’re walking along the street, through a bookstore, or in a crowd of writers at a conference, practice thinking the same thing—No one is better than me, and no one is worse than me. This is true whether you pass a woman in a Ferrari or a man picking through a garbage can. It’s true whether you’re talking to a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, or the retiree who’s just started writing her memoir. No one is better, no one is worse. Period.

Practicing this has nothing to do with altruism. It’s entirely practical. For me to allow myself to write the story I most want to write, and for me to allow that story to have all the success it is meant to have, I cannot believe that some stories are better than other stories, or that some writers are better than other writers. I must know that only I can tell the story I want to tell, that it is not a competition, and I must not limit where that story will go, the way a parent will sometimes limit what they believe their child is capable of. If I love the story I told, it is not for me to rank it or compare it, but to let it fly as far it can.

Nor can I believe that some writers are worse than me. This creates a world of haves and have-nots, and if I think I am one of those lucky enough to have, then I will have to protect my precious talent, my spot up the ladder, believing it alone determines the value of my life. Now I will begin to fear falling, fear some book not doing so well, fear being like everyone else. Now I fear having nothing and being nothing.

I cannot write from fear, only love, and there is always plenty of that. It’s limitless. There is no limit to how much love there is, or happiness there is, or enthusiasm, or curiosity, or desire, or courage, or compassion, or peace. There is always exactly as much of it as I am willing to find and share, the well never goes dry, there’s plenty for everyone and everyone has plenty, whether they know it or not, accept or not, believe it or not—it’s always there in full.

If you like the ideas and perspectives expressed here, feel free to contact me about individual coaching and group workshops.

Everyone Has What It Takes: A Writer’s Guide to the End of Self-Doubt available for pre-order now!
You can find William at: williamkenower.com