Don’t Quit Striving Towards Your Writing Goals
For some reason, I see owls being used everywhere in decorator and stationary items.
They are even appearing on Christmas paper plates! Maybe they are telling us that we need less ‘frantic doing’ and more contemplating to learn wisdom from our experiences!
For the last few weeks I have desperately needed a change of pace, and have been trying to plot out a new direction for CommuniCATE in 2014. I have destroyed parts of a brand new, very expensive diary in the process! However, after an obsessive assessment of my stats and many hours of deliberating, I keep coming back to the same answer: keep doing what I am already doing, as it’s working and I am being true to my own creative self.
That makes sense… but!!!!!! I am paying a high price in unpaid labour and far too many hours of drudge work to make that happen. So still, what to do? I want off that rat wheel!
I know many of you are in the same position. You have a taste of success, but you’re still a small player, investing more than you will ever get back. Some days you just stop and say, “why?” “Is this Internet promotion game really going to make me a satisfied author? What am I doing pandering to strangers, SEO, social media and all that rot? I want my life back!”
The final clincher for me in making this decision, was digging out archived files of an old disaster. You know how some days you have to stop and look back? You have to pull up that memory that still hurts, remember dreams lost, face the work that was wasted and ask, “what the ‘bleep’ went so wrong?” It’s human nature to want to make sense of it all. Looking back at that toxic carcass, gave me a sense of gratitude which I have been missing. Despite being fidgety, I am now happier because I followed one of my dreams. It’s all been worth it.
Yes, there are a lot of plants. As I spend so much time at my desk, I try and make it pleasant.
As writers we often look back on older work and cringe. We have shelved ideas, abandoned books, smashed dreams and poisonous feedback that still makes us want to hide and cry under our desks. I have thirty files which need editing and placing back on Faithwriters.com. Why were they removed? They are 15 years old! My editing standards are now higher. Many past pieces of writing are online out of my reach, and perfect or not, I just have to wear them. Maybe that is a lesson in humility we all have to learn, allowing ourselves to grow. Seeing what lies behind as a necessity, a blessing and something we should use to empower us to keep moving forward.
Whatever publishing, blogging, social media and your life throws at you, stay with it. Keep writing. It will pay off in some way. I know once my restlessness wears off, I will go back to happily following my work routine. I just need the sense to focus, stay grateful and stay put!
What is the hardest part of your writing journey?
Oh yes, please don’t forget! There is a new free e-book (pdf so readable on any device) which pulls all my blog related posts together. It’s titled “Savvy Blogging for Time Starved Writers,” and is available via the sidebar. You can import pdf files into Kindle via their apps (just point your Kindle app on your computer to the directory where you keep your pdf and it will import); and into iBooks via the iTunes link up with your computer and your iPhone/iPad.
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Filed under: Author First Aid Tagged: author, books, broken dreams, commitment, coping, decision making, disappointment, discouragement, drudge work, failure, freedom, grind, growth, social media, statistics, writer, writing
