by Wayne Leon Learmond

Created on: May 26, 2010

Only you as a writer will know when that time has arrived to call it a day. Normally this will be when you have achieved everything that you could achieve in your chosen field, that is writing.  You may feel that then the time is right for you to quit, because you want to try something new, and off the beaten track.

But, of course we all know that this is very rarely the case. We all know as writers, how hard it is to quit, because writing is like a drug, and we, as writers, all need our fix of it. We can just quit and walk away, as it is never as easy as that. I, myself hardly know any famous writers at all, that have actually walked out on their profession, because writing has been their lifeblood for so many years.

The only things that would maybe stop a writer in his or her tracks would be because of the following: 1}  That they have simply run out of things to say.  2} That they feel their work has become stale and that they are finding it nigh on impossible to come up with new ideas. 3} That they are simply depressed and at the same time, have hit a crises of confidence in their own ability. 4} That they are bored with the daily routine of writing.

There are countless writers that will tell you that their love for writing carries them through even the darkest of times. Indeed, some writers can produce their best pieces when they are not in the right frame of mind. As with all artists, writers are the same when it comes to suffering with depression  and even clinical depression {Edgar Allan Poe}. Yet on no occasion do they give up on their chosen art.  You would be hard pressed indeed to find a writer that has actually given up on their gift completely.

Normally in such cases a writer may need to recharge their batteries so-to-speak.  A break from writing completely, for however long, normally does the trick. The writer then returns to the keyboard fully refreshed, and full of new ideas ready to go again. Only you yourself, as a writer will know when you want to walk away. Maybe you are an up and coming writer and are eager to gain at least some little success? There are many beginner writers who give up at the first hurdle. It is those same people who will maybe know that writing is not for them.

But others seem fated to write and on no account will give up their talent at the drop of a hat. Only writers themselves know when they have had enough. Perhaps thay are tired of all the snobbery that is associated with writing?   Perhaps they are tired of  rejection time and again, or that writing simply is not bringing in the kind of money that they could comfortably live on? There could be a whole number of reasons as to why someone would give up on writing to try something else.

The bottom line is this, that writers know when to call it quits when something inside them tells them to stop. When they lose that urge and love then they must stop. Above all else, even above success, if you lose the love you have for your chosen field {which is why we all do it in the first place}, then writing will mean nothing to you.

The words will be empty, meaningless, with no feeling or passion or emotion behind them. Love, above everything else, ties you to your art, whether that be writing, painting, or whatever else may be your trade. Without the love for your writing, that is when the time comes to call it quits.

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