What do you think is the most difficult thing about learning to write?

 　　Analytical skills are incredibly important; you need to be meticulous, carry a notebook to jot down your thoughts every day, read the oldest and most classic books, write the most unrestrained and free-spirited language, and disregard everything. Some people who can't distinguish between reality and writing might try to find fault, asking if you're writing about them. But these aren't the hardest parts, nor is the daily persistence the most difficult.

　　The hardest part is discovering your own heart, revising those ideas again and again until the writing becomes polished, not just writing them down and calling it a day. After writing, you need to put it into practice, see if it's feasible in reality, and consider how you'll revise, think, and write it years later. If someone hasn't even written a single pure literary novel, no matter how many essays and miscellaneous writings they produce, they're not a writer. And if their novels are a mess, utterly unreadable, like plain water, they're still not a writer.

　　The hardest part of literature is finding large chunks of free time amidst a busy schedule, still writing well, not wasting time, and continuously improving based on learning. This improvement leads to a level of insightful, inspired thinking, not just grueling practice. Grueling practice is largely useless for writing; without inspiration and other high-level thinking, it's pointless.

　　The hardest thing is for a highly talented person to also learn diligently—not just talk, but to write calmly, revise calmly, and overcome all difficulties to do this. Even after starting work and having relationships, it's difficult to keep writing and maintaining this focused approach. It's tough being a person and doing things in China; there are so many people and so much talk.

　　Being able to work and learn throughout one's life is a blessing. No matter how much pressure makes us thoughtful or prone to aging, it's still a kind of luck. Work helps you avoid bad habits, illnesses, the noise of gossip, pressure from family to get married, and many unpleasant people. It helps you escape poverty, emptiness, boredom, and bad relationships. It helps you shed your past, less desirable self. Don't always complain about work. I love working and learning, but I'm not a workaholic; working too hard is unnecessary. Write calmly, learn calmly. Calmness doesn't mean slow; calmness is the fastest way. Without work, you are nothing; you'll soon despise yourself.

　　The hardest part of learning to write is using the time others spend complaining to cherish and enjoy, to treat others' suffering as something to enjoy, to genuinely seek out hardship, to make the difficult easy, and to appreciate, record, observe, learn, and work while others are slacking off. Let those negative, constantly complaining colleagues, leaders, classmates, teachers, parents, and people who create tension around you go to hell.

　　Tell yourself that you are living, not suffering.