Where were you as a writer 10 years ago?
What was important to you then? And how does it compare to what’s important to you now?
I got to thinking about this the other day after watching a TED talk by Dan Gilbert called “The Psychology of Your Future Self.” In essence, Dan talks about how we change a lot more over the period of a decade than we think we will.
Right now, for instance, you may imagine that 10 years from now you’ll still have the same favorite song, or favorite meal, and treasured dream or goal.
But Gilbert invites us all to think back to where we were ten years ago, and realize how much has really changed since then. Only when we do that with careful attention do we realize how much—including ourselves—actually changes in the span of a decade.
Why go through such an exercise?
I’m sure the benefits will vary from person to person, but I found it encouraging to review where I was ten years ago. In short, I realized that I’ve come farther than I’d thought in my writing career.
What might you discover?
5 Questions About the Last 10 Years
To help you through this process, I’ve created five questions to answer below. I encourage you to get out a pen and paper or computer file and actually write down your answers, rather than just “thinking” them.
As you go through the exercise, feel free to let your thoughts take you where they will. You may come up with some motivating or creative ideas you can use to make your next 10 years even more fabulous.
1. 10 years ago, what was your biggest writing goal?
I was kind of taken aback to realize that for me, my biggest goal 10 years ago was to get a novel published. I wanted the validation of a traditional publisher, and back then, I didn’t know if I would ever get it. It was the biggest dream of my life, and I lived in a pretty constant state of doubt that I would ever be “good enough” to see that dream come true.
It did come true, and my first novel came out in 2015, followed by my second novel in 2016, then my two non-fiction books after that. I don’t think I ever could have predicted I’d have published four books before the next decade came to an end.
How about you? What was your biggest dream 10 years ago, and has that dream come true? If it has, reminisce about that experience a little bit, and realize how far you’ve come. Then write down the biggest dream you have now in your writing career.
If your dream from 10 years ago never did come true, ask yourself why. Did you give up on it? Do you still dream this dream? If not, why not? If so, is there something you can do now to make it happen?
2. What was your biggest fear 10 years ago?
My biggest fear 10 years ago was that I did not have enough writing talent to ever be picked up by a publisher. I have a lot of writers ask me about this today—how do I know if I’m talented enough? How do I know whether I’m wasting my time?
I now know that it’s a lot less about talent than it is about hard work, perseverance, and keeping faith in yourself. No one, including you, can tell you if you have “enough” talent. But you can get feedback on your writing and continue to work hard toward your dreams.
In truth, I still worry about talent now and then, but I know now that it’s not a productive use of my time, and this fear has taken a back seat to others that I now have in my life.
What was your biggest fear 10 years ago? Have you tackled it? If not, why is it still bothering you, and is there something you can do about it?
3. Who was your favorite author 10 years ago?
Mine was Margaret Atwood, hands down. She’s still one of my favorites and always will be, but I’ve got some new ones now that I look to for inspiration in my own writing.
This is another area where I’m amazed at how much has changed—how much my reading tastes have expanded, and how many more wonderful authors I now admire.
How about you? Your favorite author from 10 years ago—is that person still your favorite, or do you have another? Any thoughts as to why your preferences may have changed, if they did?
4. What did you spend most of your writing time doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, I was focused solely on writing novels. I hadn’t started building my author platform yet (a mistake). I was working as a full-time freelance writer, as I still am, but all my spare time went toward writing novel-length manuscripts. It was a time of struggle as I sought to find my voice and what type of stories I really wanted to write.
Now, so much has changed. In addition to novels, I write non-fiction books while maintaining two different writing websites along with my author site and speaking at writing conferences around the country. Ten years ago I couldn’t have foreseen myself doing any of these other things.
What did you spend most of your time on 10 years ago, and how has that changed now? Do you balance writing with marketing/platform-building as most of us do? How do you feel about how you use your time today, as opposed to how you used to use it? Does this comparison bring to light some problems in your writing schedule that you may need to address?
5. Who were you as a writer 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I was an unknown writer. I was working on my novels basically in secret, sharing them only with those closest to me. I identified as a writer, but mostly because of my day job as a health and wellness writer.
Today I fully embrace the title of “writer,” fiction and non-fiction, without the reservations I used to feel 10 years ago. My identity feels a lot more solid and comfortable today than it was then, and that’s a blessing.
Who were you as a writer 10 years ago, and how has that changed today? Do you feel more or less entrenched in your writer identity? Or has that identity changed somehow in ways you didn’t expect? Are there ways you would like it to change in the future?
Ten Years Go Quickly By in the Life of a Writer
I hope this exercise was as illuminating for you as it was for me. The next step is to imagine what will happen over the next 10 years.
We will all probably change a lot more than we think we will. That can be encouraging—when you look back and see how far you’ve come, you realize you can take more giant leaps forward over the next decade.
It can also be a little frightening when we realize how fast time goes, and how few decades we have left.
There’s no time to waste. What will you do to make the next decade your best?
How much has changed over the last 10 years for you?