So many times I have wanted to put the words away and just give up. I don't have the time to write. I certainly don't have hours to put into reading about the art of writing. I look at the market and tell myself there is no way that out of all these writers I will get a break and get published. So I should just stop writing.
Excuses, how easy they are to make. Commitments, how difficult they can be to keep.
WB and my sister before the Turkey Trot last fall.My sister is visiting this weekend and she helped to remind me of commitments. She'll be competing in her first Half Iron Man competition in Orlando in May. She recently moved from sea level to the mountains of Colorado, which makes training even more difficult because she has not acclimated to the altitude change yet. But through all this she dedicates each day of her life to training. It doesn't matter if she has had a long day at work or the weather is bad, she will be pushing herself to be better. Right now she is out for a 20 mile bike ride even though the wind is gusting up to 30 mph and the wind chill is in the low 40's. She knows what it takes to get to her goal and she sticks to it. Her words are "Every tough workout I have I just tell myself how much sweeter crossing that finish line will be."
As a writer I need to use that same philosophy. Set my goals and stick to them. There will be days those goals seem impossible to achieve, but I have to at least try. When I cross that finish line I want to look back with a smile on my face. I want to know I worked hard, didn't give up, and finished the race.
Now to switch gears, the winner of the Limerick poem was difficult for WB to pick. He took his job seriously and reread each one for all sorts of technical and creative points. But the one he liked the most was Elizabeth's. That you so much to everyone who joined in. I was truly stuck on finishing that limerick and I loved each one!
Do you know what is it going to take for you to finish the race?
5 comments:
Whew! That is a good thought!
YEAH!!! You guys made my day. I missed my calling, I should write them professionally. My kids are super excited for me, I feel like I won the lottery.
Once again, you write such timely words that I need to hear in my life. I have been making some big scary decisions about my little mini businesses, and been feeling rather overwhelmed by the commitments that these changes would take.
But every victory in life is so much sweeter for having been difficult to achieve, or scary to commit to, from a long way out.
Kara, thanks for the reminder.
I meant to get by for the limerick contest, but we've been so busy. I haven't had a chance to ready blogs until today. What a fun contest though!
Good thoughts. I try to write something nearly everyday. Even a paragraph a day is something. Several paragraphs make a page, several pages a chapter, and after a time (months, even years) you have your book. Good comparision to running. wb
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