In a world full of hares, be a tortoise.

“Are you busy? Do you need to go do something?” My sister asked me, pausing in the middle of her story.

“No, why?” I asked.

“You have your hand on the doorknob and you keep looking at the clock.”

Oh, I thought

Guilt settled in my stomach quickly because that wasn’t the first time we’d had that conversation. I knew what would happen next: she would (rightfully) become angry with me and refuse to finish her story because I “clearly have more important things to do.”

It become such a common discussion, I knew something had to change.

We’ve all done it — subconsciously, at least. Someone starts talking to you just as you’re about to do something, and you signal to them that you don’t want to hear what they have to say without actually saying it. …

“If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” — Banksy

Ten months. That’s how long I tried to write a fiction novel.

The second a scene popped into my head, I did what I always do: I went all in with no delay.

I can write articles and short stories without knowing what I want the end result to be, which is why I thought I could do the same with the book. Turns out, writing a book is really fucking hard.

I wrote scene after scene and rewrote chapter one countless times when I found myself stuck yet again. I refused to admit I had no idea what I was doing. Why? …

An interview with Sinem Günel.

Sinem Günel is a digital entrepreneur, coach, and writer. Her work is dedicated to helping people create a life they love. She came into touch with entrepreneurship at the age of 19 and quickly realized that she wanted to do her own thing instead of working for someone else. After 3 years of struggling to figure out what she really wanted, she’s now running a 6-figure online business together with her partner.

The following is an interview with Sinem:

1. When did you first stumble upon Medium? How long have you been writing on here?

I discovered Medium in August 2018. My boyfriend told me that he’d watched a video about this platform called Medium and shared its benefits. Three hours later, I published my first article. For the next 1.5 years, I published 150 articles but didn’t see any success. …

#1. Waiting for ideas to strike you like lightning.

If you want to become a better writer, you can’t just find habits that’ll help you improve. You first need to find out which habits are holding you back from being the best writer you can be. There’s a reason the phrase is, “Out with the old, in with the new,” and not just, “In with the new.”

Hoping to improve without first eradicating what doesn’t work is like trying to build a house on top of a bunch of rocks rather than flat, solid ground. The first step needs to be to remove all those rocks.

The following are bad habits I see writers struggle with all the time. We’re going to uncover them, get rid of them, and replace them with something that can hold you up like stable ground. …

I wish it was quiet.

I wish I could be alone. I wish there was silence. I wish I had a desk and a comfortable chair. I wish I had an office — or at least, my own room. I wish I could write in the dark.

Not the pitch-black dark. I wish I could write with only a small lamp illuminating my hands. I like that type of lighting. It comforts and relaxes me.

I wish my family wasn’t in the kitchen as I write this. Making noise. Walking back and forth. I love my family. But I like writing alone. …

You don’t have to be a great writer. You just have to be real.

I don’t consider myself a great writer. If I’m honest, I barely consider myself a good one. Yet, I’m somehow at a point where I’m about to reach 3,000 followers. I’m sure many of you can relate when I ask why? Why do people read my work? How have I gotten here?

While there might be various reasons why people my work — every reader is different, after all — one look at my comments made me realize one important reason that shouldn’t be overlooked. Here are a few of those comments:

Don’t underestimate the magic of a boring walk around the block.

Stress feels like being thrown into a suitcase and then dumped onto a busy street in New York City: It’s suffocating and loud. Yet, nowadays, most of us have the same coping mechanism: tv and social media. What do you find there? More suffocation. More noise. We try to escape a problem by running toward a similar one because we think it’ll make us feel better.

Countless writers have written articles about dealing with stress and overwhelm because people have more on their plates than ever before. …

Five excuses that are holding you back and how to overcome them.

When you’re in your twenties, all you want to do is have fun. You want to go out drinking with friends, stay up late watching a Netflix series, and live in a way you weren’t able to as a teenager. And you can. You’re allowed to have all of those things, but the reason you’re reading this article is that you also want more.

There’s a goal you want to pursue. A dream you want to reach. But you’re not actually pursuing it. You have all these excuses and reasons why you can’t.

I’m turning twenty-three in a few weeks, but I’ve managed to find what I love and start my journey toward my goals. I get to blog on a platform I love, and I’m writing my first novel. …