Sustain

To sustain is to support, bear the weight of, strengthen, encourage or nourish.

It can also mean to endure or suffer, to decide in favour of something, substantiate, corroborate or maintain.

One who sustains is a sustainer. Do you qualify for that description?

Sustainability is a topical issue, meaning as it does 'avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance'. That's very important of course, but I suspect we're doing even more damage by what we're adding to the planet than what we're removing – plastic, greenhouse gasses and other pollution, nuclear and chemical weapons ... but this is a writing blog, so I won't continue in this theme sustainedly.

Sustaining interest in our writing can be something which makes many writers feel insecure. For some it can seem like they're enduring the writing process rather than being supported and encouraged by it.

For others, the worry is how to sustain a reader's interest, either as they're reading one piece, or in their writing as a whole. 

If any of those, or anything else is making you feel like an insecure writer, then you might like to consider joining the Insecure Writer's Support Group.


For me, the issue making me feel most insecure at the moment is how to achieve a sustainment of sales for my lovely books. I probably need to do some form of marketing, perhaps even make a sustained effort in that direction? 

This free to enter short story competition has the theme of sustainability. The first prize is £200 – if you don't want it, feel free to send it over and I'll recycle it for you!