Joyce Ling

Growing up, I immersed myself in books like Harry Potter, the Inheritance Cycle, Redwall, The Hardy Boys, Artemis Fowl, and many more. I would lose myself in hours of immersive storytelling, as, often, the fictional world felt safer than the real one. I would dream of one day writing a book like the books I spent so much time on every single day. However, I would give up easily, leaving stories unfinished because I was often distractible and struggled focusing. In addition, I would write and rewrite until every word was perfect. I never got very far.

Although Language Arts was always my best subject in school, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Growing up Asian American, I was taught that “hard” math and science was valuable, and writing would never help me put food on the table. What’s so great about writing, I’d tell myself, when nearly everyone could do it? It could hardly qualify as a gift or talent. Over the years, I’ve discovered how challenging writing really is. One reason I hear often is that it’s ambiguous and subjective—there’s “no right answer”. A single sentence can be reworked infinitely without ever being “done”.

Yet, that’s why I’ve come to love it. Everyone writes, but not everyone loves the process of it. And that’s what brings me back to it—this process of getting imperfect words on the page, then refining over time until you’ve communicated what once was just a vague notion inside your head.

Part of falling back in love with the process has been working with ILYS. For the first time, I can skip the perfectionist filter in my head and simply express. It’s helped me make significant progress on a couple of books I’ve been working on. For the first time, I’m fulfilling the dream I had as a kid—to become a book author. Through using ILYS, I can now read my raw, unfiltered writing and withhold judgment, because I know it’ll all be okay in the end. I know, now, that part of writing is refining and shaping, not unlike a potter with a lump of clay, or a sculptor with a misshapen rock before them.

I like writing about the meaningful moments of life and sharing vulnerable stories—these are the stories that make us feel less alone and help us become more of who we want to be.

Check out my blog Chasing Embers.