Stop Talking About Your Writing

In this eye-opening article, author Rachel G. Jordan explains why chatting about your work-in-progress can feel productive—but quietly sabotage your progress. From dopamine traps to comparison spirals, she explores the hidden costs of premature sharing—and what to do instead.

There are sinister consequences to talking about your work. Unfortunately, most aspiring writers initially assume that talking about their current projects is advantageous, providing accountability or positive reinforcement to steel them against plaguing distractions and self-doubts. Talking about the latest, greatest project might be fun or seem helpful, but as professional writers tend to discover sooner or later, talking during the brainstorming or drafting stages of a project can come at a steep cost.

If you want to produce your best work, you need to stop talking about it. While there’s no such thing as universal advice, consider this a warning against potential consequences, summarized as be careful statements after each piece of evidence. (Notably, this advice is directed toward those actively developing a new project—not those in the marketing phase, during which time it is tremendously important to talk about your work.) Let’s take a closer look at psychology and social expectations to better understand why talking about our work is so dangerous to its development.

Feel-good Brain Chemicals

Have you ever heard of dopamine? When you get positive feedback from people about your work, your brain releases dopamine (a feel-good chemical), which encourages you to talk about your project even more. But none of these “good feelings” are tied to actual progress. You’re being rewarded for achieving nothing, which can distract from the real work you have left to do, since talking about writing can be more satisfying than the actual writing process. Be careful not to become so enamored with talking about your work that it hinders your progress.

The Discouragement Dumps

Taste a slice of humble pie. Not everyone is going to as enthusiastic about your writing as you are—and that’s okay. (If this is the case, they’re probably not your intended audience anyways.) Before opening up to people about the tender project of your heart, consider whether you want to have potentially negative voices replaying in your thoughts when you’re actively working. If you can’t envision an enthusiastic audience on the other side, it might slow or stop your project before it really gets off the ground. Be careful of who you let speak into your work.

Talk is Cheap (and Sometimes Worthless)

Everybody’s great aunt’s cousin’s dog wants to write a book. But very few people actually write the book that they talk about. So the question is: are you actually writing? Words spoken do not equate to words written (unless you just so happen to be among the rare few who write via voice-to-text). I say this with love: if you’re going to tell someone about your project, you had better be on your way to finishing it. Be careful to finish what you started.

The Comparison Game

Remember how everybody wants to write a book? If you tell someone about your project, it opens the door for them to tell you about their own (or that friend-of-a-friend’s). Most people are gung-ho to talk, but not quite as willing to listen. And comparison is a game where the best players are the biggest losers. What if their project is further along than yours? What if they already have publication plans? What if they’re a better writer than you? Consider whether this kind of conversation would be helpful or harmful to your work. In the words of elementary school teachers and seasoned literary agents alike, “Keep you eyes on your own paper.” Be careful not to compare yourself with others.

Well-Intentioned Inquiries

After talking, some fall-out is inevitable. Thoughtful people ask thoughtful questions, so if you tell them about your project, at some point in the future (next week, perhaps), they will ask you about it. Get ready for a hailstorm of FAQs: “Are you done yet? When can I read it? When will I find it in bookstores?” Your reaction might depend on the kind of progress you’re making or how close you are to finishing, but you should consider how these questions will affect you. Be careful not to set yourself up to go crazy.

There is an alternative solution—one that produces its own set of feel-good brain chemicals, avoids the discouragement dumps, makes your words matter, avoids the comparison game, and reserves inquiries for a later date. Instead of talking about writing, just write! Write like nobody is watching, having expectations, keeping track, making comparisons, or asking questions… because nobody is.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel G. Jordan is a professional marine biologist and lay theologian with a MS in marine biology and ecology, a BS in ecology, and a certification in biblical studies. She is passionate about helping others understand science accurately, represent Jesus fully, and engage in conversations respectfully.

Rachel’s book, If the Ocean Has a Soul, releases with Tyndale House on June 3, 2025.

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If the Ocean Has a Soul: A Marine Biologist’s Pursuit of Truth through Deep Waters of Faith and Science

The ocean is filled with scientific discoveries―and God’s presence.

For marine biologist Rachel Jordan, both science and Scripture are means of knowing creation and Creator. In If the Ocean Has a Soul, Rachel considers the natural world through a spiritual lens, meshing marine biology with biblical truths in a keen and current take on faith and science. With engaging storytelling and deep knowledge of the Bible, she asks and answers questions like:

How can Christians reconcile religion and science when the two seem opposed? What do suffering and death teach us about the character of Jesus? How do we care for the environment when there seems to be little hope for repair? What do the ocean and its sea creatures, specifically, reveal about God?

In these pages, Rachel recounts fascinating aquatic phenomena alongside the sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic stories of animals she has known. You’ll lose yourself in the shadows of an underwater labyrinth; hear spiritual wisdom from a great-grandmother coral the size of a Volkswagen Beetle; and fall in love with Porky, the pudgy porcupinefish greeting visitors at the Windjammer shipwreck. And along the way, you’ll see how the promise of restoration unfolds in both physical and spiritual ways. Rachel’s thoughtful scientific and theological insights encourage us to know the Creator of the sea and everything in it.