The more we write—and even more so, the more we read—the more glaring it becomes how much more we have to learn, not only as writers, but as participants in the world at large. It’s easy to imagine that people like Stephen King (perhaps the most obvious example) are exempt from this notion and simply possess supernatural powers. On the contrary, it must be that writers of King’s caliber only got where they are today by approaching writing in this way: by always striving to learn something new about the process itself. And yet, I’d be willing to bet even Mr. K didn’t start out that way.

Let’s be honest about one thing: the rigor and conscious effort required of writing well is not what drew any of us here. (Yes, except you, Karen.) If it’s why you stayed, cheers, but the fact remains that even the most decorated of athletes must continue to put in the work if they hope to keep performing well. I’m not saying talent doesn’t go a long way, but talent without real effort eventually reveals itself as such. Writing well takes work. This turns a lot of would-be writers away. And it should. Writing is not a practical way to make a living, for one thing. Writing is a hobby when it comes down to it. It is a passion. If you keep doing it, congratulations, you’re a writer, but don’t expect a participation ribbon because they aren’t even giving those out anymore.

Okay, you’re a writer. You’re really doing it. You’re putting in the work. You’re spending days, weeks, months on single projects. You’re setting goals for yourself—small ones at first. You’re seeking notes from peers or friends or, let’s face it, anybody at all who will take time out of their busy day to read your unpublished work. You’re open to criticism and notes and actively consider them during revision. You’re spending hours revising your work—oftentimes longer than it took to write the first draft. You’re reading past issues of magazines where you’re sending your work. You’re…

But are you?

This is the question we all need to be asking ourselves. Sure, there are distractions. Life happens. Maybe we can’t even write for a few days or weeks at a time because [insert harmless untruth]. The fact is, we all have at least a few minutes a day/week/whatever where we could write or edit something if we wanted to do so. So, are you?