The first day of autumn was just lovely. Since it was on a Saturday, I didn’t have school to think about and the only thing on my to-do list was work on my novel and publish my blog post, Autumn Bucket List Inspo (this was such a fun one!).

I ended up playing in the leaves with my younger brother for a solid hour, playing and laughing and even getting our very resistant chickens involved in the process, haha! 

After spending a little over an hour on my writing, my older brother and niece came over. I took off my bluelight glasses, closed my computer, and called it a day with my writing. I ended up having such a memorable time with my family!

Well, I realized something slightly surprising that Saturday—I could enjoy life without feeling like I had to write in every spare moment plus some, or feeling guilty if I didn’t.

Because I have a bit of an all or nothing type of personality, when I first started writing seriously—about a year ago— I took it seriously. It seemed as though I put life on hold to the best of my ability so I could get more words written every day. 

In fact, I was trying to write a novel while frontloading years worth of school! Needless to say that it wasn’t a great system. I hardly talked to people since I was so busy, working from morning to night then wanting alone time to “regulate” (if I wasn’t writing). 

I quickly realized that this system wouldn’t work for me. It couldn’t work for me. I was able to identify that and take a step back, but that feeling never really left. The feeling of needing to write so I could be productive. Needing to write so I could work toward my dreams and prove to people that I was following through with my claims that I would be a full time author. 

I always felt like I was doing something wrong when I wasn’t writing. 

Do you know this feeling? Have you ever experienced this sort of “writing guilt” in your life? Are you going through this right now? Let me encourage you with the truth. 

The first truth is that you are not your writing. 

Some people struggle so much with critique, constructive criticism, and especially negative feedback on their writing when they feel this way. I remember the first time I posted a snippet of my writing in my writing community. I was checking my notifications prolifically to see if anyone had commented on my post. 

My mom reminded me that how people viewed my writing had nothing to do with how they viewed me. My writing isn’t me. Your writing isn’t you. I know that feeling—that your worth is tied up in your writing—especially when you’ve poured so much into it, maybe even having written from a place of pain or personal experience. 

When you feel this way, please remember: writing is something you do, not something you are. Your identity is in who you are a child of God, and nothing can ever change that, not even the amount of words you get down each day. 

The second truth is this: it’s important to let yourself rest. 

Like I mentioned earlier, when I do something, I want to do it right. And to me, doing something right is doing it thoroughly! 

Yet there’s one thing that I tend to forget about the writing craft: writing is a marathon, not a sprint. I quote one of the instructors in my writing community, Kara Swanson, quite often on this one. 

The concept is this: you have to pace yourself. 

It’s not realistic to spend 3 hours a day writing. You or I might be able to keep it up for a week or two if we’re really grinding it out, but for most of us, that wouldn’t work long term. I’m in school, I have a big family, and am regularly involved in inner city ministry. With all of that, I can’t dedicate that much time a day to my writing (although trust me when I say I’d love to!). 

While creating consistent writing habits and working hard even when you don’t want to are incredibly important, there’s another thing that factors into your writing: your life. 

At the end of the day, your life is more important than your writing. When it comes down to it, there’s so much joy, so many blessings from God, to be found in day to day life. The small things are the things that make up life and give it flavor and happiness, and if we’re constantly thinking about our writing, then we’ll miss them. 

Take it from me; I lived this for a year—and just found freedom last week. 

Your writing is important, and for many of you, this may be something God has called you to do—write. But He values you more than your work, and so do those around you. 

Don’t ever forget that your life is more important than your writing, because you are made in the image of God, not your story. You are loved, valued, and priceless regardless of what your writing life looks like. 

Next time you are stressed about your writing, or feel like you’re neglecting the other things that are important in your life, don’t be afraid to take a step back from writing to live. To you, that break might last for two hours or two months. 

Regardless of how long your break is, you’re not a failure for prioritizing life over writing. In fact, you’re wise— very few people know the importance of true rest. 

I want you to remember this truth for the rest of your writing journey, whether that be your whole life or just a season of it: your life matters more than your writing does, so live it out to the fullest.

Did this post encourage you? Then you might also like Don’t Let Writing Stall Your Life: Your Words Matter, But Your Life Matters More from The Young Writer Blog. The Young Writer Blog has tons of posts full of truth, encouragement, and pro tips. If you’re a writer looking for any of those things, why don’t you check it out?