Perhaps writers need envy
...the envy that sends us back to work.
We don’t often talk about envy as part of the creative life, but perhaps we should.
Not the malicious kind. Not the kind that wants another writer or artist to fail. I mean the small, sharp twinge when someone else has made something wonderful and a part of us thinks: I wish I’d done that.
Writers live in a constant weather system of comparison — reviews, rankings, prize lists, follower counts, book deals, festival invitations, visible momentum. Some envy is simply status envy, and it rarely helps. It says: Why them? Why not me?
But there’s another kind. Artistic envy. The kind that recognises accomplishment, craft, stamina and finish. The kind that sees a completed book, play, film or performance and understands the years of doubt and labour behind it.
That twinge can be useful.
I’ve written about this on Nail Your Novel: The envy that sends writers back to work
Just read the whole thing from my inbox. Love it! I have been feeling aspirational about my writing lately. My aspiration is to skill-up to write short stories that could justifiably be described as 'literary'.