Got two messages this week from new friends asking about how to stay motivated with their art during these times. I'm no expert and I'm also dealing with India family anxieties. That said, here's what has always worked, pandemic or otherwise. 1/n

It's never about external validation. I wrote without sending stuff to publications/publishers for over a decade. It's about the all-consuming topics/themes that I must explore, wrestle with, and understand through writing; about writing as a way of moving through the world. 2/n

The only kind of emotional energy that's sustainable is the kind that comes from within. Energy that comes from external validation can't last because such validation is fickle, trend-focused, and doesn't always appreciate the aspects of your work that mean the most to you. 3/n

This is not to say that external validation is unnecessary. It helps to shore up self-confidence, esp in the early years. It helps pay bills. But I've never counted on it or made it a reason/expectation w.r.t. my work. Easier said than done. Here are 3 ways I stay the course. 4/n

1) Develop a set of personal heuristics (mental shortcuts that reduce the cognitive load of making decisions.) Call them rules of thumb, values, or principles. These are the life credos you'll commit to 100%; boundaries you'll never cross; moral lines you'll always uphold. 5/n

2) Appreciate the experience of learning from experiences—the meta-experience, if you will. This means sitting with yourself and having some uncomfortable, difficult, private conversations. Also, this means ignoring the instant gratification of sharing it all on social media. 6/n

3) Have a plan A, plan B, and a plan Z for your chosen work path. I've written about this earlier. https://twitter.com/jennybhatt/status/1379613228418801665?s=20 7/n

This is all I have to help with encouragement or inspiration. Our work isn't about saving people's lives but it could save at least one life: our own. To that end, the necessary resources, processes, and priorities are in our own hands, no one else's. Thanks for reading. 8/n