The Myth of the Writer’s Life: It’s Not What We See in the Movies

…or read in the books

Growing up, I always thought writing was this glamorous thing. You know, the kind where you’d spend mornings sipping coffee at a cute café, afternoons wandering through parks and nights penning down words that would eventually change the world. Blame it on all those movies and books that show writers as these effortlessly cool, introspective types who churn out columns and bestselling novels with ease.

I mean I’ve recently read a bunch of books and watched movies where writing and writers are glorified, and I can’t get my head around it. Who hasn’t watched Sex and the City and thought, Carrie Bradshaw has it made! She writes one column a week and has a killer Manhattan apartment! Or maybe it’s the romanticized version of a struggling writer in a Parisian café, case in point Midnight in Paris. That’s the image that gets seared into our heads. But then reality hits, and it’s not quite like that.

Here’s what they don’t tell you:

1. Writing Isn’t a Daily Inspiration-Fest

Rather, far from it! Movies make it seem like inspiration is this ever-flowing fountain. Like all it takes is one epiphany and you’re typing away at lightning speed. In reality? Most days, writing feels like staring at a blinking…