What Writing Victory Feels Like

Plus, a free writing prompt.

Jun 09, 2025

Most of us are familiar with the idea of catastrophizing. This is the psychological concept of assigning more weight to negative emotions and assuming the worst possible outcome down the road. Ex. My boss shot me a funny look at the office this morning. It’s clear he’ll ask me to clean out my desk by the end of the day. I won’t get paid. I’ll lose my house. My family will be homeless.

But we don’t talk about the opposite of catastrophizing, which can be just as bad from a mental health standpoint, and which I’m not even sure there’s a word for. It’s the idea that something we commit ourselves to must lead to the best possible outcome. Ex. I’ve worked hard at this job. Obviously, I’ll be running this place before long. I’ll make a billion dollars and retire in the next five years.

Maybe we can call this thinking fantastisizing, hopium, or good ole romanticizing. I’m not satisfied with these terms, but if you know one, please tell me.

In some corners, writing is judged by external markers of success. We publish a book and hope that it makes good money or wins a decent prize. There’s nothing wrong with these perfectly natural desires. But what happens if we expect grandiose success? Ex. You envision yourself being crowned with a laurel at the Nobel ceremony in Stockholm as the head of a major publisher hands you a royalty check for $1,000,000,000.00.

Refer a friend

Day dreaming is fine. Hoping for the best is reasonable. But if success only comes from off the charts appreciation…well, that’s a recipe for sadness and devastating from a psychological perspective. Because if success is always out of reach, it’s impossible to be happy. One can become quite bitter and unable to move forward.

Personally, I’m a big fan of small victories. It’s very nice to write 1,000 words as I have most days since the month started (*see below). It’s great to publish work in literary journals as I did with new poem last week. But you know what’s also great? Laughing at something a character you just made says. Or being impressed by a sentence the muse handed to you. Or even just keeping up with friends and supporting each other in your writing journeys.

I ask that you find ways to appreciate the work you do in your writing life. Victory is something you can hold in the palm of your hand at any time. No crown required.

Sitting in Silence

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