The Only Mistake a Writer Truly Can Make

As I continue to work on multiple personal writing projects that mean a lot to me, I urge all other writers to avoid one mistake: Do not sacrifice truth and the freedom of your voice. It’s when people want to quiet you that your words must ring the loudest.

A mistake that extends beyond censorship

When you read the quote above, I’m guessing that your first instinct is to think about censorship. Other, specific people directly telling you that you can or can’t write x, y, or z. I do mean for you to resist that.

You might think that you don’t have an issue if you’re creating content regularly. But now think of how much freedom a traditionally published author has over their books. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I get the sense from what I see online that writers are afraid to push back around control of their content, lest they lose a contract.

But writers can be silenced in so, so many ways. Sometimes, it’s just being so busy trying to meet the needs of other people that we go weeks or even months without writing anything at all. It’s being crushed by the critic in their heads, the one formed years ago from real people. And it’s culture saying what is and is not acceptable or making writers question their entire value in the face of AI. Sometimes, it’s changes to the industry that pressure you toward trends and away from what you care about. All of these scenarios act like a muzzle, too.

You’re strong enough not to settle for silence (yes, really)

The big point is, please don’t settle for silence or others editing your work so hard it isn’t even yours anymore. I’ve reached a point in my life where I can’t and, therefore, won’t. You’re strong enough to break free, too.

Yes, you are.