What I Learned After Mentoring 50 New Writers

Every writer’s journey starts out the same. It’s what we do after the initial saturation that decides how the future will be.

A few days ago, I was having a hard time dealing with my thoughts.

I felt like I’d hit a slump with my work. No new idea excited me. There was nowhere to go out and no one to hang out with.

I was spiralling. Things got pretty dark inside my head.

That’s when I hit the pause button.

I’m 33 years old. I’ve been in such a place multiple times in my life. I know when you feel stuck, the worst thing you can do is stay stuck and feel sorry for yourself.

When you have momentum in life, there’s no place for self-doubt.

And so, I chose action over overthinking.

My unfair advantage is that I already have a community of 50+ writers committed to writing N articles in 100 days. We hang out on Discord, where we talk about a variety of topics like writing advice, freelancing tips, feedback requests, etc.

I dropped a message on the community Discord that I’ll be hanging out in the voice chat channel for an hour. Whoever wishes to join can hop in.

My message to my Discord community of writers on Sunday.

And guess what? 5 writers joined!

The conversations started slow, but once they did, they kept flowing.

We exchanged ideas, lifted each other up, and shared our hits and misses. Talking to this bunch of incredibly talented writers made me realize one thing: writing might seem like a lonely job, but I am not alone.

One writer had a special request, that I start a daily “Silent Working Hours” session, where we all hop in on a Google Meet call, keep our mics on mute, and work.

My work in the past has put me in a place where I can choose to get inspired by a bunch of writers whenever I wish. I get to know they’re on this journey along with me, and we’re all there for each other.

It’s a high no drugs in the world can give!

I ended the call feeling uplifted. My heart was soaring, and my smile was wide. So much so, that my housemate asked me, “What did you do in your room?”

Maybe she thought I did something secret that changed my mood so drastically. But what can I say, that “something secret” was a call with my community.

Remember, whatever you’re feeling, whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to do it alone.