Writers, Don't Place Limits on Yourself

 

Writer A hits a rough spot in the novel he is attempting to write. He sighs, sits back, and tells himself to quit trying to write this book. You know you can't finish it. You know you can't make the words sing. He gives up.

Writer B has a problem in the middle of the novel he's working on. I know I can figure this out, he tells himself. What's the best way to do it, he wonders. He knows that walking away from the work in progress for a few days, or even weeks, might help him find an answer. Or he'll go for a walk, sit in some quiet place and think about the difficult spot he hit while writing. Sometimes that silence opens his mind enough to find a solution. 

The difference between these two writers is that Writer A gives up pretty easily. Writer B doesn't limit himself. He is willing to work on the problem in one way or another. 

I once worked for a man whose favorite saying was "Success comes in cans, not can'ts". I got tired of hearing that phrase multiple times, and so did the other women who worked in his dress shop. Even so, as the decades have gone on, I've thought of his adage many times, especially in my writing life. 

If you think you can do something, you'll probably be able to accomplish it. If you fear you cannot, you probably will not have much success. 

Our poster today says, 'There are no limits to what you can accomplish. except the limits you place on your own thinking.' I have said multiple times on this blog that _______ is up to you. You are the one in charge. You are the one who decides what you can or cannot do. You are the one who does or does not put limits on your thoughts about your writing life. 

We all know that quitting, or giving up, is by far the easiest road to follow. It's much more difficult to take the road that puts no limits on your thinking about what you can accomplish. That road is longer with more than a few bumps, but it will take you better places in your writing world.

If you give up, will you always wonder what you might have accomplished in your writing world if you'd approached it differently? Would you rather be the one who wonders, or the one who kept working until he found some success? With the second choice comes hard work. No one ever said writing was easy. It isn't. 

Yep, 'success comes in cans, not can'ts".

Writers and Effort

 

Today's quote seems made for writers. When you get stuck in one of your writing projects, don't give up. If one way doesn't work, try another and keep the effort going until you find the right solution and can finish feeling some satisfaction.

If anyone ever told you that a writer only needs to sit down, tap away at the keyboard, and turn out a delightful story, article, or essay, they have led you astray. To come up with a good piece of writing, you need to make a lot of effort. Not once, but perhaps several times.

Writing is hard work. It's also satisfying and inspiring. You are the one who must decide how hard you're willing to labor. You're the one who has to choose one door, two, or several before you are happy with what you've written. 

When you've written your first draft, proofread, and edited, let it sit a few days. Then read it and ask yourself one very important question: Am I happy with what I've written? If you are, that's great. If you have the slightest hesitation, then you'd better give it another try. 

You can go through several doors while writing, not only an entire piece, but even one small portion. I often see the writers in my online critique group subbing a piece for the group with something like this before it: "I don't think this flows well." OR "Something is wrong int the middle section (or opening, or conclusion)." They know the spots that need work, but they're seeking help from those with objective eyes. The good part here is that they are trying to find another way to write what didn't satisfy them. 

How many doors are you willing to try before you either feel satisfied or give up? I hope you won't give up on a problem piece entirely. If you've worked on it several times, and it still doesn't make you happy, put it in a file and don't look at it for a week or two or even much longer. When you pull up the file and read it again, you'll often see what the problem is and be able to find a solution. Work at it too long without a break, and we're often blind to what needs to be done.

Should Writers Give Up?

How many times have you thought, or said aloud, that you are going to give up writing? It happens to many a good writer. Think of all the reasons that make you feel that way. 

Here's a partial list: 

• You read a finished piece and think it stinks. 
• You submit a story half a dozen times and all that you get are rejections.
• You proofread a finished story or essay and wonder why there are so many errors.
• You see little to no progress in your writing.
• Your critique group offers more negatives than positives.
• You keep writing the same thing over and over, don't come up with a fresh view.
• Your work is filled with passive verbs and no sensory details so it seems blah.
• You don't care about the mechanics of writing, just the story so it gets rejected many times.
• You can't be bothered with writing exercises to help you grow as a writer.
• You won't attend a writing workshop or conference to learn more about your craft.

Every one of the problems in the list above can be solved. And yes, you are allowed to vent your frustration. Go ahead and do what the poster tells us--scream or cry. Maybe even throw something. You're also allowed to walk away for a short break--hours or even days. 

The one thing you should not do is give up. If you truly want to be a writer, you need to keep working at improving. Nothing happens overnight. Athletes practice hours and hours for years to make it in the professional arenas. Well, guess what? Writers need to do the same thing. There's a reason you often hear this piece of advice for writers--Don't quit your day job. We don't become an overnight success. 

If your desire to write is strong enough, you won't give up. That's not to say you won't get angry, frustrated or depressed now and then? I have. Other writers have. And so will you! 

Go back to the list and decide which points you've had to deal with. Ask yourself how each of those problems can be solved. Then work on them one by one. 

If instead, you choose to quit writing, you may regret it. Besides that, the itch to write again may be more irritating than whatever it was that caused you to quit. Why waste all that you've already put into your writing journey? 

Because it's important, I'll repeat this one more time--Please don't give up.