If you're a writer you're supposed to write a lot of bullshit. It's part of the gig. You have to write a lot of absolute garbage in order to get to the good bits. Every once in a while you'll be like "Oh, I wish I hadn't wasted all that time writing bullshit," but that's dumb. That's exactly the same as an Olympic runner being like "Oh, I wish I hadn't wasted all that time running all those practice laps"
So Morrowind has these messages that pop up when you level up that aren't just like "wow you're so epic" but actually kind of relevant to like aging and growing as a person. My favorite one, that feels really relevant (couldn't find a screenshot): "It's all suddenly obvious to you. You just have to concentrate. All the energy and time you've wasted -- it's a sin. But without the experience you've gained, taking risks, taking responsibility for failure, how could you have understood?" Like yeah, it feels like I've wasted a lot of time on projects that may never be finished, or pursuits that I ultimately decided weren't for me. But I've learned so much just by engaging with the process of creating, I wouldn't be the same if I hadn't.

























