Every job teaches life lessons and writing is no different. Here are a few things I've learned--and am still learning.
1. Baby steps. Writing a novel can feel like a monumental task when you're staring at a blank page. When I first started writing, my kids were little, and I wrote 1 page a day. It doesn't seem like much, but in less than a year I had a finished novel. Chop big projects down into digestible, bite-sized chunks. What giant task are you avoiding?
2. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Lots of things in life are scary, and for me, the creative process is one of those things. What if it's not there today? What if it's never there again? What if this book tanks my career? I've learned to pray, then plow through the writing. Somehow it'll all work out the way it was meant to. Is fear preventing you from doing something?
3. Persistence pays off. Most writers have garnered enough rejection slips to wallpaper a small office--I'm one of them. You learn writing by doing it, and some of my early stuff? Not so good. Thomas Edison said success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. I agree. Have you quit something prematurely?
4. Don't believe your own press. Riding the wave of public opinion is a roller coaster ride I can do without. If I get kudos, pride can rear its ugly head. If my story gets criticized, I question my ability to write. I can learn from the criticism, but in the end, if I wrote the story God gave me and did it to the best of my ability, I did my job. Are you putting too much stock in other peoples' opinions?
5. In everything, balance. Writing is an important part of my life, but so are my boys, my husband, my church, my family, and my friends. It takes constant checking to keep priorities in line, but it's so important. Is your life in balance? Would your family agree?
8 Comments:
Great post, D! Especially the advice to break up a big task into small chunks.
Thanks for the great reminders! Often, the large scope of a project overwhelms me very quickly after that first burst of enthusiasm wanes. :)
And all the other projects seem so much more inviting! LOL I know, I know.
Denise, thank you. I SO needed to read your wise words.
As I'm on a two week deadline, I really needed this too. One of the ways I'm out of balance is saving things, procrastinating, and then the project overshadows life in the end. That is not good time management, and definitely something I need to work on. That and staying seated.
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I needed them this week.
Wow. I really needed to read this today. Thank you for the reminders. It's so helpful just to know that I'm not the only one trying to muddle through the self doubt and that it doesn't all just spill out of you, one of my favorite authors. :)
Just a really helpful post today. Thank you!
I just have to ask, WHO goes rock climbing in a SKIRT???????????
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