Ruthless

Here's what nobody tells you about becoming a writer: it's not only about what you do—it's about what you stop doing. The most successful writers aren't always the most talented. They're the ones who've mastered the brutal calculus of time. They understand that saying yes to writing means saying no to almost everything else, at least for now.

Every “yes” you give to something non-essential is a “no” to your manuscript. That Netflix series everyone's binging? It'll still be there when you've turned in your thesis—and if it's not, you'll be glad you didn't waste your hours on it. That TikTok rabbit hole of 30-second videos that turns into one hour, then two? Um, no thanks. The drinks with that friend who always circles back to the same three complaints? Hard pass.

Need I go on?

If there's one thing I know about being a writer, it's that you must be ruthless about protecting your time. Not just serious, ruthless. 

No one will hand you the hours you need; plenty of people will try to steal them if you let them. Guard your time as if it were your life because in a very real way, it is. It's your one wild and precious life (thank you, Mary Oliver), and for the next 620 days, you've pledged it to the page.

Some good news as I close out this missive: you do not have to go this alone! If you're part of a community of writers (like an MFA program!), you're all making the same wager, all guarding your hours, all holding yourselves accountable to your art.

SO, let's do this, ruthlessly and together! Happy writing this October, MFAW!