Don’t be so surprised when you see these kinds of claims being made in “writing advice” articles all over the web.

I find it appalling that in a craft as gut-wrenchingly intimidating as writing, other writers are trying to dissuade anyone interested in banging out a story from doing so.

There are demons in writers. Every single one of us was going about our business one day when an amalgamation of input into our brains formed into an idea for a story. In the book, “The War of Art” the author states that these are whispers from the angels or the muse. I don’t know what tepee he is living in, what crystals he is sucking on, or what dreamcatcher materials he used to come to that conclusion. Because he is wrong.

Those ideas aren’t coming from any fucking angels. They are coming from fat, dirty, boil covered, cat piss smelling, giant swinging dildos for hands, shit puking demons that have whispered in your ear and taken up residence behind your eyes.

They give you little quips after the first idea for a story is planted. Little seeds of encouragement or intrigue. These are the shower thoughts of all the times teachers told you your writing was great. The revelations of plot points you have as you mentally slam your head against the boardroom table. The new characters that come waltzing in as you commute into your work.

And when these demons finally convince you that your idea is worth writing, they give you just enough discipline to sit down in front of a blank word processor. It is at this point that the demons reveal themselves.

They are called fear, anxiety, self-loathing, discouragement.

You realize that it was all a sham. That you yourself have been written into some elaborate Mean Girls fan fiction, and you’re the pre-cocaine Lindsay Lohan. You were set up to fail. Propped up to be knocked down. All done by those demons to bring you back to reality. To get you back in your khakis and off to the office on time. To make you realize how weak and mediocre you truly are. How terrible your writing is and how fruitless it will be even if you do finish.

So what do you do? Well, you do what all writers do. You do what I just did today. You go to Google.

You start out small. Just a smidge of nihilistic-existentialism. You type in something like: “Is writing worth it?” Which then goes to: “How to know if you’re truly passionate about writing.” Which proceeds to: “How much can you make as a writer?” Continuing to: “Neal Gaiman net worth.” And finally to: “When does the next World of Warcraft expansion release?”

You’ve diminished your chances of success by going head first into a digital world of s.h.i.t. shit. The demons have won. But not without help.

Between the lines of those searches, just two paragraphs up, are the writers, the profiteers, the snarky columnists, the “experts” and others who have made it a point to go out of their way to provide you — the vulnerable self-conscious aspiring writer — excuse after excuse on why you can’t make it as writer. Why it isn’t worth your time. How no one cares about books anymore or how writing itself pays you less than shit on a hobo’s nickel. How you’ll end up broke, depressed, starving to death in your parents basement. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get sepsis as stray cats take up residence with you if you write! You wouldn’t want that, right?

Here is the truth, though. These kinds of articles feed into and off of your insecurities. They make your demons are now fat and happy. And yet, they are predominately written by people who fit into one of, if not multiple of the following categories.

Failed writers of fiction : i.e. Tried to get their My Little Pony fanfic traditionally published, didn’t work out, so they wrote off the entire literary world.

: i.e. Tried to get their My Little Pony fanfic traditionally published, didn’t work out, so they wrote off the entire literary world. Critics who are trying to make a name for themselves : i.e. anyone who wants to make a living creatively without actually doing any creative work. E-harmony profile might include: snarky banter enthusiast, intense love of slam poetry and only reads literary fiction as it is the only “true” form of entertainment.

: i.e. anyone who wants to make a living creatively without actually doing any creative work. E-harmony profile might include: snarky banter enthusiast, intense love of slam poetry and only reads literary fiction as it is the only “true” form of entertainment. Self-published Writers : i.e. anyone who has sold a handful of books and now considers themselves an expert.

: i.e. anyone who has sold a handful of books and now considers themselves an expert. Single book authors : i.e. people that have a single book published and can’t understand why they don’t have to keep writing books now.

: i.e. people that have a single book published and can’t understand why they don’t have to keep writing books now. General writer told to increase site traffic on a topic they know or care little about: i.e. Buzzfeed

I could go on and on and on. But the point is this, don’t let these fucking assholes stop you from pursuing your dream. If you want to write fiction go write it.

If you haven’t heard of the author of the article before, go look them up on Amazon or Goodreads, are they there? If you can’t find them, then fuck everything they say.

Do they work for an agency that you like? If not, then fuck everything they say.

How about a publisher you like? If not, then fuck everything they say

I’m writing this to tell you that your writing might not sell. It might not change the world, and I find it hard to believe that writing does, in fact, even put a dent in your local community. Maybe you make a ton of money doing it. Maybe you don’t. But guess what?

You’ll never know unless you try. So get your ass in the chair, stop second guessing and start typing.