Doesn’t it seem like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do…well, anything?
I was on the phone the other day and I casually mentioned that I spend around three hours a day writing.
Three hours! Wow, you’re writing all the time.
To which I replied, “Actually, I’m not writing at all.”
Now, obviously neither one of those statements are 100% accurate, but sometimes it really does feel like I’m walking backwards when I’m writing. The list of daily “writing stuff” continues to grow, and I’ll often go to bed (after staying up way too late on a work night) wondering what I actually accomplished.
I won’t lie to you. There are times when I look at my WIPs, my second novel revisions, Theme of Absence, Write Good Books, and all of the social media stuff and wonder if I’m in way over my head. It’s easy to get discouraged if you start feeling like no progress is being made and it takes everything you have just to keep up.
But then there are other times when I look at my WIPs and say, “Cool, I’ve got two dozen ideas to choose from.”
And then I look at my second novel and say, “Damn, this is really starting to shape up well.”
And then I look at Theme of Absence, Write Good Books, and all of the social media stuff and say, “Hey, I’m actually starting to build quite the platform.”
I guess it all comes down to your perspective right? When I’m not at my day job or with my family, everything I do–every action I take–is done with writing on my mind.
What can I do to achieve the success I desire in writing?
That’s the most important thing. I didn’t start Theme of Absence because I thought it would be fun; I started it to give other writers another paying market to submit to. I started it to help me become a better writer and editor. I started Write Good Books in order to help other writers learn and improve their own craft, and hopefully take me along with them. I started both sites hoping to make connection with other writers, both locally and around the world.
When I look at all of this stuff, at every small step forward, and even at every large step backward, I see the progress I’ve made. I see the progress I’ll continue to make.
I hope you do the same. If you’re feeling down about your goals and accomplishments–not just in writing, but in real life too–just take a minute to remind yourself of what you have accomplished so far. And then get back in the game and keep playing.
