How To Keep Your Creative Dreams Alive

What I've Learnt From 14 Years Of Writing My First Book

Photo Credit: Diya Pokharel

Introduction

It has taken me 14 years to write and finish my first book. Looking back, I’m not bothered by the fact that I’ve spent over half of my life working on it in some capacity. What terrifies me far more is that, many times, I came close to giving up altogether. My book almost never existed. My dream of finishing my novel almost died with me. I worry this happens with a lot of people’s creative dreams these days. It is as if these dreams, and the creative people that hold them, are brought to an unnecessary, early death in a way.

“Anything worthwhile takes a long time,” Debbie Millman said in her talk at 99U.