10 Things I’m Grateful For As A Writer

I meant to publish this before Thanksgiving, but I didn’t. But I do believe that the first post of the year here is appropriate to share what I’m grateful for as a writer.

2020 and 2021 have been difficult years for everyone. We’ve either been ill, or lost someone to illness, lost a job, had to deal with new working situations and been stressed beyond measure!

For me, gratitude has helped me keep it all together. Noting what I’m grateful for on paper, in prayer and often saying it out loud has helped enormously.

A 2003 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that gratitude was a major contributor to resilience following the terrorist attacks on September 11. Recognizing all that you have to be thankful for —even during the worst times—fosters resilience.

10 Things I’m Grateful For As A Writer

Although, I often write about gratitude on Everday Gyaan, today I’m focusing on the 10 things I’m grateful for as a writer ( in no particular order of priority).

#1 Flexibility

Writers are WFH pioneers – work from anywhere, in fact. So while many people struggled to move into a new way of working, most writers, especially those freelancing, had no problem adjusting. We can literally work from anywhere, if we put our minds to it. I love the flexibility that makes the job of writing easy to do.

#2 Reading

I’m shocked when someone who professes to be a writer, says they don’t read! Most writers are voracious readers. And when you have someone like Stephen King telling you “Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can’t expect to become a good writer,” then you have a perfect excuse to read.

#3 Readers

Yes, I’m always grateful for people who read my writing, even if, my readers consist of my husband, some friends and a few bloggers who are friends. Writers need readers and I’m glad for the few that I have.

#4 Continuous Learning and Growth

As writers we have to keep learning and growing to improve our craft. Perhaps, this applies to other professions too, but I’m grateful that ongoing learning and growth is a must for writers.

#5 Community

There’s so much to learn from others and in these days of social media, opportunities to learn from the writing community are many. The writing community inspires and motivates me to write more, and is also a go-to for assistance and feedback.

#6 Solitude and an excuse to be my introverted self

As an introvert, I crave solitude and spending time writing gives me the perfect opportunity to be quiet and be myself.

#7 Getting to express myself

When I write, especially in my journal or my Morning Pages, I get a chance to express my deepest thoughts and feelings. I have discovered so much more about myself through these two exercises of writing.

#8 An outlet for creativity

We are all creative beings. And we express our creativity in a variety of ways. While some of us paint, others compose music, some of us write. I’m grateful to have this outlet to express my creativity and connect with others through it. Writing allows me to view the world to a different lens. The sheer joy of putting together words to create something meaningful is incomparable.

#9 My imagination

As they say, everything is created twice – once in our imagination and the second time in reality. I’m grateful for my imagination, a valuable tool that I can access to create and visualize what I want to write.

#10 Everything is counted as research

Writers can find an idea in a conversation they overhear, inspiration in something they see, and every movie, outing, visit, walk, is an opportunity to find fodder for writing.

These are just 10 things I’m grateful for as a writer. There’s plenty more.

What are you grateful for ?