I think there is a lot of times when we fail and our inability to get ourselves up and dust ourselves off keeps us from progressing. I know that is what happened to me today. I spent the afternoon with Jana Oliver (a great friend and writer), but by the time I got home and was feeling more inspired, I had friends arriving and a night of fun gaming ahead of us. Now, my hubby is in bed and I decided it was time to hit the keyboard again.
Part of the reason I started this challenge wast to prove to myself that there is time in every day for me to start finishing my novels. Yes, novels…and I really need to get to work on getting them out of my head and on digital paper. All my life, I have tried writing stories. I teach through storytelling. Stories and books have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and it is one of my great dreams/goals to actually finish writing one of these ever-present stories. I simply must find time, and I keep re-evaluating my life to decide what can I give up to make this happen.See, I love my job. So much so I probably should have used capital letters when I wrote that and I spend a lot of time doing my absolute best at my job. Outside of work, my life is crazy and jammed packed and I love it - I would just love it more with some more me time. More time to write - for me. Being the good Virgo that I am, I feel guilty many times when I do something just for me. It's stupid, but I'm a giver, I put others first most of the time, and I have a damn hard time saying no. But I've got to learn, because if I can't find time to blog during this 30-day challenge of mine, I'm never going to find time to finish the book. And I've been epically failing at that for much too long. Life is too short and in the wise words of John Lennon, "life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans."
I do not think you need to beat yourself up over this -- the idea is to get yourself back into the writing groove! Guilt only hinders, imho. That John Lennon quote sums it all up, doesn't it? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Tyra! Ellen Eldridge sent me over here, and I'm so glad. It's nice to "meet" you. I started a 30-day challenge about the same time you did, so she wanted us to connect.
ReplyDeleteYou are SO right about how we undermine ourselves by worrying about "failure." Did you know that the most successful business people actually fail at business ventures more often than other business people? It's because they try more often.
It's not about making it *this time.* It's about getting up and trying again.
I was forty years old before I finished my first novel (which is in final edits before subbing to agents, complete at 79,000 words). It really was a matter of sitting down and making a commitment to a certain amount of time a day. For me, I eke it out by getting up an hour early. I do miss days occasionally, and then I beat myself up a little, and then I get up and go at it again.
One thing that helps most people in developing new habits is to create a "getting started ritual." For me, it's keeping a word tracking document with the dates & word count. Some people start with a prayer or a formal ritual.
Don't worry about the blog challenge. Pick it up again if you want to. Don't try to catch up--you'll never catch up. Just start again. Or decide that you're going to spend an hour a day on your stories for 30 days. Just because you didn't finish this time doesn't mean you won't/can't next time. Or the next time. Or the next.
The only thing that's for sure is that if you *keep* trying, you *will* make it.
By the way, I find the 30-day blog challenge much harder than writing in my book for an hour a day. Why? Because writing in my book(s) doesn't require that I have something "publish ready" at the end of the hour. All I have to do is sit and stare at the screen and *try* to work for that hour.
Best of luck to you, and let's keep in touch!
P.S. My writing blog is here: www.writerforlife.com