Why I Write in a Community That Wants Me to Quit

I’ve written through resistance for most of my life. Usually, I’ve sensed or heard that people wanted me to quit.

That meant deleting my work, taking down my social media, and succumbing to depression. The way I’ve been treated suggests few people want me to continue writing.

Overall, I’d say times have been tough. Some of the experiences I had nearly forced me to quit. 

There was the time in my thirties that I completed hundreds of ghostwriting assignments—all while having my apartment unlawfully invaded.  Or the time I worked as a news writer for an online niche site during my twenties. This was during the middle of a long and severe depressive episode. During both occasions, I showed up, pounding at my keyboard. Even then, I knew that not moving forward would delay my growth.

Looking back, I’d say the adversity worked to my benefit. And not only mine. Other writers, too. All writers can improve if the environment pushes back. Whether resistance comes as hate, denial, health problems, or oppression, the advantages of writing through hardship are huge. In fact, I’m here to tell you how they can transform you.

Just think: most writers want to feel like heroes. 

Readers are likely to root for a story’s characters, but the writer must do the work to make the magic happen.

When writers work against adversity, they emerge from each assignment feeling more capable than ever. This is because writers grow better when they work in or around tough environments.

In fact, writing through resistance is a huge way to grow. But the opposite is true if there is no adversity. Writers stay in their own lanes, rarely venturing to new ideas or projects.  That's the kind of mistake that costs careers.

For writers, avoidance will always deplete confidence. But growth occurs as you win amid conflict.

Now think of what writing through adversity means.

You might write a memoir while your family tears you down behind your back. Or you may pitch an article to an editor and complete the assignment while disabled.

What if you authored a feature story while an entire institution targeted you, harassed you, and went through extreme lengths to keep you quiet? Naturally, you’d be a stronger, more persistent writer. 

You can also think of what it’s like to be a marginalized writer. To be a part of a race or ethnic group whose writing is ignored. By the time the views climb, these writers will have picked up the strength to capitalize on success. They're the writers who felt like they made the most growth.

When I think of adversity, I think of older writers. Writers from my childhood like Maya Angelou, a brilliant poet and author who's works were published during a time of heightened racial prejudice.  

Imagine. You're writing, your head down and you have all the emotion. But somehow, you're writing while recovering from trauma. That’s dedication. That’s writing through resistance. And if you look at this writer’s works, you’ll see they get better over time. 

This is the kind of exponential growth that happens when you write through conflict. And it's why we remember these writers above all others.

The best way to visualize the advantages is to picture the way a weightlifter works. To build strength, the weightlifter must take in extra calories (energy) while pushing weights that offer the perfect amount of resistance.

No strain? No gain. Nothing great can come from the easiest path forward. If writers want to see measurable growth, they must first embrace resistance. Either they work through struggles or pressure themselves to go farther. Writers can only get bigger as they learn to write through discomfort.

Who said writing isn’t valuable?

Even if your stories are published on platforms like Hubpages or Medium, there is great potential to inspire, teach, and resonate with readers.

If you’re a writer facing adversity, the value of your work grows tenfold. You’re no longer writing with mere information. Your writing to change  lives.

Most writers think the trick is going viral. But proving value is simpler. It means drawing material from the heart and giving it your touch of survival and resilience. Then sharing the results, takeaways, and lessons from those exciting experiences.

The more exciting the challenge, the greater your potential to appear valuable. Even if you’ve only built a portfolio with a few articles. The key advantage in value lies in a memorable equation: value equals hardship plus knowledge multiplied by ten. 

That means to show value, you need to combine information stemming from hardship and knowledge and multiply that by ten separate pieces. Whether you’re a freelance writer or essayist, the true value of your work shines once readers see the pains of your growth.

Not once, twice, or five times in a row. Ten pieces of knowledgeable pieces written during pressure will lead to a highly engaged audience. Even if you plan to quit writing, if you reach this point, you’ll have made it to the point to keep going. 

If you're still doubtful, just ask--Which would you rather be? A writer with purpose? Or a machine with no feelings? If you’re hoping to master the art of emotional writing, write through resistance--the power of stories that resonate with readers.. 

You’re going to be a much tougher writer—and human—if you try hard when everything is working against you. Whether it’s a community of trolls or an internal battle, showing up, falling down, and returning to your desk builds resilience. The kind of mental toughness writers need to take their writing up a notch.

The benefits of building resilience as a writer are enormous:

• Resilience helps writers go deeper

• Resilience helps writers get creative

• Resilience helps writers think smarter

• Resilience helps writers avoid quitting

Tough writers dig into their stories, conduct more diverse interviews, discover new exciting angles, and emerge from each assignment more knowledgeable and capable than ever before. Thinking otherwise? Think back. When you first started writing, you had to take a half-dozen breaks before you finished the story. 

Now what happened after you kept pushing forward and stopped abandoning your work? That’s right. Those powerful stories become meaningful and rewarding. 

Readers can tell when you overcame conflict while writing. And that's one one of the biggest joys you can produce in a reader. 

A big reason I never gave up writing. Some of us are writing for redemption, whether we’ve fallen out with friends, quit a big job, or traversed a dark path. Writing heals the heart, allowing us to move forward and let go of the trouble we faced. If nothing else, writing through adversity allows us to show how we’ve grown to be better.

This is one of the reasons writers explore creative nonfiction. Crafting a memorable personal essay lets the writer share where they went wrong and how they overcame the conflict. Readers love this style of writing because they like character-driven narratives. These pieces give readers reason to feel proud of a writer, a valuable connection like no other.

Great writing works best when we write to improve our lives. This point was referenced indirectly by bestselling author Stephen King in his book On Writing. King says that writers should “Write the story—then make it right.”  What King meant was simple. Finish the draft. Do that first. Then edit and revise. 

But the sentiment also applies to writing your story, then using the work to correct or improve your life. Whether you're sharing pieces to help others heal or resolving a lifelong conflict, the freedom is up to the writer. And the reward feels better after crisis.

Nothing is more emotionally liberating for a writer than showcasing your growth and helping others like you. Writers want to know they are liked. Writers who feel liked have likely overcome so much.

Speaking of making things right, how well would you feel if you gave up writing because a voice in your head told you to stop?

I haven’t given up on writing because I needed to silence self-doubt. While others prayed I'd fail, I kept going, if not for personal career success, then for the satisfaction of knowing I overcame my mean inner critic. For many writers, self-doubt is equally as painful. 

Self-doubt makes writers despise their work, fear growth, and succumb to rejection, often earlier than needed. The voices in their minds continuously drag writers down, year after year, until one day they can’t pick up the pen This outcome is why I recommend writers persist through self-doubt. When you’re facing adversity, and writing gets hard, the writers who persevere fail to break down as often. You get stronger as a writer every time you get back up again. 

If you want writing inspiration, it comes from trying harder when the journey feels impossible. Remember, this is not an accomplishment anyone can reach.

Writing is hard. Rewriting is harder. And at times, writers are going to get stuck. When the source of adversity comes from within a writer’s own life, the tendency is to want to give in and quit. This was why I had such a hard time writing over the last decade. 

The biggest challenges I faced while writing came from my own internal struggles—not the fact that everyone wanted me to quit. Yes, feeling the weight of my haters breathing down my neck has occasionally steered me off course. But I’ve found that nothing has improved the trajectory of my life than writing through adversity. The journey has filled me with the kind of purpose I need to make it through tough times. 

For more information about writing through conflict, follow me on X at @kevinbwriting.