A Pep Talk For You and Me

Most writers have ideas for writing projects. Family members give serious thought to writing their family stories. Some writers dream of writing a novel or a memoir. They have the entire thing mapped out in their heads. As long as these projects are merely thoughts, they are never going to come to fruition. 

What's holding you back? Why do you think about entering your best personal essay in a contest but simply never get around to doing it? What makes you dream about creating a large book of family stories that you can present to family members as a fabulous gift, but it never happens? Why do you think about joining a writing group but can't seem to get it accomplished? Why do you see a book about writing in a bookstore, look at the frontispiece, give thought to reading it but slip it back on the shelf? 

We've talked about fear, doubt and lack of confidence being the culprits. A post from several days ago addresses all three. If you missed it, read it here. I'm not going to go into detail on those problems in today's post.

What I do want to bring to your attention is that it is entirely up to you to 'unleash your inner awesome' as our poster tells us. If you only think about writing projects, you know they will never see the light of day. If you know you are capable of writing, then get started. Afraid it might not come out well? So what? Get that first draft written. Consider the first draft as the springboard to a finished product. 

A mountain climber will never reach the summit unless he/she takes the first step, the second and third and keeps going. Sitting at the bottom of the mountain thinking about the climb gets him/her nowhere. The only thing it does is delay what he/she had come to do. It wastes precious time. Wait too long and he/she will gather their gear and head home. Maybe tomorrow, they think. Not so different from the writer who can't take that first step in writing a novel or a special poem. 

Time for true confessions. I have delayed and delayed submitting to my state writing contest. This 'pep talk' post is as much for me as it is for any other writer who finds himself/herself postponing a writing project or submitting work to a contest or for publication. I know it's time for me to get with it and work on polishing a few pieces I've thought about entering. I'm having difficulty choosing what to send. Maybe the answer is to send all that I feel good about. The deadline is only a month away, so I need to get moving. 

How about taking that first step and unleashing what is swirling around inside your head? Let it come forth. An old adage comes to mind:  Once begun, you're almost done. With a writing project that might not hold true as we can take weeks or months from start to end. Even so, once begun, you're on your way to the finish line.