As a new writer, one of the things you have to accept if you decide to put pen to paper is that most of the time you are writing for the void.*
Even in a hyper-connected online environment like the internet, audiences are hard to come by. When you first start writing, though, they are guaranteed to be non-existent. But having zero or few readers as you start out is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s true that most of what you send into the void will have minimal impact, and that’s okay. That time can be harnessed for good.
Getting your start means no one knows you. You’re making the sound of one hand clapping. But in that silence is promise. Readers don’t know how you write because you’re still developing—you don’t really know how you write either. That silence is a wonderful space to create in.
The period where nobody knows who you are is peaceful. Working in anonymity allows you to toil unfettered as you continue to hammer out things like voice and style. It can be a period of incredible growth without the worries and burdens that come with outside criticism.
Writing, much like designing, is an act of passion. Because of that it can feel a little off putting to push content into the void with no noticeable return. We want our passion to…
