Staying Focused: Progressing Our Projects

As some of you already know, I've been working on my current (first) novel since July, and although I've been told that my progress has been remarkable, I don't always feel that way. I'm also quite sure that many of the other writers out there, fledgling and veteran alike, probably feel the same way at times. Sometimes it is just a matter of us being harder on ourselves than others might be, but sometimes it's a matter of focus, and we find ourselves not writing as much as we'd like. I know this happens for more reasons than we could cover here, but in my eyes all of our "reasons" can be traced back to one of a few culprits.

The first thing I noticed as a new writer was a fear of failure. Part of us believes that we can't fail if we don't begin, and the best way to overcome this is to alter our perceptions, realizing that by note starting we are failing. Honestly, what is more sad--not even having the courage to follow our dreams in the first place, or failing to achieve them before we die? We never really fail at obtaining our dreams as long as we're still heading toward them. There are no time limits that say, "If you don't achieve goal X by date Y then you lose!" So, as far as writing is concerned, if it is your dream, just write. Failure is impossible. It also bears mentioning that keeping this perspective can be challenging. Fear will likely always rear its ugly head, but Roosevelt's quote holds true: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Another big problem that I see us running into as writers is a lack of support for our endeavor. People have trouble taking someone seriously when they say, "Hey! I'm writing a novel!" And given the fact that we all occasionally let fear interrupt our attempts to write, I can understand why people have trouble giving our efforts credibility. Now don't think I'm blaming it all on us here! A support system is a highly valuable thing in any facet of human life, and with creative outlets I think it is all but essential. The frame of mind needed to write the way we'd like can be a pretty fragile thing, and my advice here is two-fold: First, as with all things in your life, surround yourself with positivity as much as possible. Those who do not support you should be put on the periphery of your life, while those who stand by you and cheer you on from the heart should be kept close. Secondly, do not use a lack of support as an excuse to let the fear win out. As I said before, just write.

Lastly, staying focused truly depends upon our priorities; how we choose to fill our waking hours. When I started writing the Brother's Wyrd books I was playing EverQuest II on my PC, Madden on the PS3, and watching anywhere from 1-3 shows a night on TV. How did I manage to write? I wrote a lot on weekends and only small amounts during weeknights. I wanted to write so badly though. This dream had waited so long. Too long. I started feeling more shame than fear, and that prompted me start making some decisions. I quit EQII about a month and a half into my book, and then Madden not long after. After that I got a lot more writing done, but I wasn't satisfied. I knew I wanted this to turn into a career one day; this isn't just something I wanted to do as a hobby. Once that fact sunk in I started doing all my writing first and watching TV to unwind at the end of each night. Then I found myself watching less and less TV and eventually (recently) just decided to cancel my cable TV service all together. Now I was saving some cash and I could focus my evenings on my craft. Now, I know some of you out there have more of a family life than I do, but that's exactly my point; if you're spending time with the family--as you should--and you devote all sorts of time to other daily recreational activities, then you're not going to have much time for writing. So do yourself a favor and prioritize. Decide if you want this, and how badly, and don't let fear of trying trick you into downplaying your passion.

Aside from actual obligations like day jobs and the people we love, everything else is merely an excuse for us not to follow our dream.

Just write.

When you're feeling writer's block, just write. When you don't feel up to writing new material, edit existing material--you'll still be writing! If you only have a little time in an evening, just write what you can.

It all comes down to making writing into a habit, making it a lifestyle, making it a part of who you are.

So...

No fear. No excuses. Just write.