Writing is a daily struggle for us. Those of you who are writers may find that reading about these sins will strike a chord within you, and those of you who are not may come to understand just how difficult sitting down to write really is. We writers face these demons every moment of the day, but perhaps knowing what they are will help us combat them.

So read on and find out just how many sins you have committed.

1. Wrath

Ever been pissed off at yourself for not getting your writing done? Have you been angry at others for distracting you from your work? Want to punch your computer screen in when it crashes and you lose hours of work because you forgot to save? Then you have succumbed to writer’s wrath. We demand perfection from ourselves and our words, and if anything ever gets in the way of the utopian romanticism we writers have with our works we will grit our teeth tear down the walls in protest to those disturbances. You’re asking me a question while I’m trying to compose my masterpiece? How dare you!

2. Greed

This is not a simple knock on writers who want to make money on their efforts. We all want that. We wouldn’t write novels or articles or blogs if we didn’t think we could get some financial reimbursement for our time. There is love and glory in our words, but there is nothing wrong with expecting a bit of cash to go along with it. Greed comes in to play when we want too much, or when we try to cheat. Don’t expect a fortune from writing, as it only comes to a lucky few. But money isn’t the real greed. True greed comes in the form of plagiarism. When we steal from others, using their words as our own, we become walking street rats, shoe scum, true All-American Assholes (AAA). School essays are one thing, but trying to make money from another’s work is a third-strike-send-to-the-penitentiary-lock-up-throw-away-the-key-stick-a-needle-in-and-done level of offense. Don’t be an AAA. Don’t be greedy.

3. Sloth

This is one sin we have all experienced. You are lazy. I am lazy. We have all sat on our asses and put off writing until that dreadful ‘tomorrow’ in which we just push it off until the next. We work too hard, we have no free time, there are so many other things we have to do first…bullshit. You’re a sloth. Write something. Five words. Anything! At least it will be something.

4. Pride

This is a sin usually reserved for those lucky few that do make some big bucks off of their work, but it has the potential to strike peasants and nobles alike. Grammar nazis are who first come to mind, those pedants riding high on their literary horses, striking away overused commas, slashing away at misspellings, rounding up thats and whiches, whos and whoms. Pride suggests that there is a perfect way to write, eliminating artistry and rule bending. If Shakespeare were not Shakespeare his mumblings would be considered drivel by the lot of the prideful, his made-up words shameful instead of beautiful. There are borders to correctness, and pride blinds many an ardent writer to them.

5. Lust

Quit dreaming about your epic novel and actually write it. As writers we’re often lusting after the accomplishments we have yet to make. We can spend hours of a day thinking about what it would be like to finish our work, but we spend no more than minutes working towards those goals.

6. Envy

Similar to lust, but about our fellow writers. We hear success stories and dream of the day when others will hear of ours. Be happy for the successes of a fellow writer and take hope from their good news. Jealousy will bring you no further towards your own achievements, so why bother with it?

7. Gluttony

How long have you worked on that novel? How many times have you edited it? How much fluff did you fill it with? Look, we all would love to have an epic fantasy series that stretches a dozen books, all over a thousand pages in length, sell the movie rights for millions, have some awesome video games created based on the universe…but that is one hell of a dream. We need to make attainable goals and rid our works of the fluff we fill it with. Cut down your book to what needs to be there. No one has to know about the centuries of history preceding the story of your novel. We don’t need to trudge through every aspect of your antagonist’s abusive childhood. Give us the nitty-gritty, a story, and we’ll be happy with it. Save all the extra slush for your file cabinet.