5 Regrets and 5 Blessings in a Decade of Writing

Learning the ins and outs of the writing industry is like navigating a maze.

Maybe the whole journey would’ve been easier if I graduated with an MFA in creative writing. But I’d already finished an expensive post-secondary education in healthcare and had a mortgage to consider.

I decided to go with:

• Courses on craft (https://www.sfu.ca/continuing-studies/programs/the-writers-studio-creative-writing-certificate/courses.html)

• Books on craft (https://maassagency.com/books-on-writing/)

• Podcasts (https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com)

• YouTube Videos (https://www.youtube.com/alyssamatesic)

I definitely wouldn’t be doing as well without these wonderful resources. But the craft of creative writing and the writing industry is so vast, nuanced, and complicated that it still seems a maze.

Stupid Mistakes I Made Not Knowing Any Better:

1. Rewrote my first manuscript, the book of my heart, over and over for, like, five years. I should’ve shelved it after a couple, and moved onto another story. (Now with several years distance and levelled-up writing skills, I may try rewriting it in 2026.)

2. Querying my first manuscript. Those poor literary agents. No domino effect in the plotting. Wooden dialogue. My craft skills at the line level needed so much improvement. How embarrassing for me.

3. Writing the second novel of a duology before selling the first. Thankfully, I discovered this early enough to leave the second novel in first draft form.

4. Taking other writers’ critiques on my work as gospel. Set me back at least a year. I’m still a critique junkie. But thankfully, better understand what advice to leave behind.

5. Writing is more fun if you push aside perfectionism and don’t take the whole thing too seriously. Sadly, I’m still working on this.

Things I’m Super Happy I Did:

1. Learned how to properly critique other writers’ work (a different skillset than writing). Not only has this levelled-up my own manuscripts, it’s gained me many amazing critique partners who know exactly what they’re doing.

2. Volunteering as a first reader for a literary magazine. Becoming part of the literary community is important. Plus, reading always levels up one’s writing skills. Reviewing a short story or three while eating my breakfast is easy and helps the literary community as a whole.

3. Volunteering to assemble a quarterly newsletter and annual anthology for my local writing association. Again, sinking into the writing community is valuable. Plus, I’m weirdly good at putting together an esthetically pleasing newsletter/anthology — no idea why. But damn, I’m enjoying this creative outlet just as much as writing.

4. Attending book launches and literary readings. Yet again, community. Plus I’m tragic at public speaking. Reading my writing aloud in front of an audience helps me practice.

5. Pursuing an enjoyable career that has nothing to do with writing. I’m nowhere near getting rich, but I’m also not struggling to pay living expenses. Frugality allows me to get by working part time and that leaves enough space in the day to write. More on this in another post.

Please, leave examples of your writing regrets and blessings in the comments. I’m curious!