'My Writing Will Never Matter, So Why Can't I Stop Trying?'

Writing is a battle against self-hatred. This is why it will always matter to you, whether your writing matters or not.

Seated Man (1915), Pablo Picasso

Dear Polly,

I hope this finds you well. I’m writing after coming back to your column recently. Your perspective is always delivered with candor and sincerity, and you talk a lot about the emotional side of the craft of writing, so I hope you might be able to offer some insight to what’s eating me.

I started writing stories …