If you want to write, then write.

If you want to write, then write. Don’t focus on anything else. Don’t compare your stories to anyone else’s. Don’t say, “They’re so much better”. Don’t listen to the darkness in your head, or embrace the fear that you might fail.

If you want to write, then write. Don’t write long stories, if you don’t want to. Don’t plan and worry and trouble yourself over words that don’t make you happy. Don’t make things more elaborate than they need to be. Write for yourself, not to impress.

If you want to write, then write. Don’t write short stories, if you don’t want to. Don’t try to cram your thoughts into a few paragraphs if a couple pages will do. Don’t censor or edit yourself to make others happy. You can’t make everyone happy, anyway.

If you want to write, then write. Pour your soul into the words on the page. Write like a river, ebbing and flowing with emotion and story. Don’t get hung up on the rocks of sentence structure and expectation. Don’t edit, don’t stifle, and don’t change. Just let it out.

If you want to write, then write. If you don’t tell your stories, who will?