OMG! Is 2017 Actually Coming To An End? You Didn't Meet Your Writing Goals Did You?

It seems like yesterday was January 1st, 2017. 

Now January 1st, 2018 is upon us. OMG!

I can say this much about 2017... I failed miserably with my writing goals. Maybe... God forbid... you're like me... I spent day after day saying, "Tomorrow... I'll have time tomorrow..."

Ha! tomorrow is here. I wrote some notes... filled a few pages in a spiral notebook. But, didn't finish that novel.

Also... If you are an aspiring writer... you MUST READ! If you write poetry... Read poetry. If you write short stories... Read short stories, etc.

I read some. I wrote some... But, I did neither in the volume I should have as an aspiring writer. Let's not sugar coat it or go all snowflake and blame someone else for my poor decisions. 

I blew it. I didn't work on my craft enough to actually call it a craft. A truism: you can't call yourself a writer if you don't actually WRITE!

I know... tough love. But, I'm a father of five. I'm a tough love kind of guy because I know it pays dividends. 

Moving forward, what does that mean??? First of all, after correcting one of my children, doling out whatever punishments were necessary, then it'd be time for restoring harmony. 

What does that mean? You can rebuke yourself for falling short. Fine. Then... a restorative measure is necessary. Restore the creative process. Otherwise how can you move forward?

Forgive yourself for blowing it. Then... GET OVER IT. Get back to writing.

Set new resolutions. Maybe this time scale them back a bit and make them more realistic... or shoot for the moon, but, bring in a friend to keep you accountable.

Bottom line: Get back on the horse. Write. Start with one word. Then two; then 20; then 100... Keep going.

2017 may be at an end. You may not have accomplished what you wanted. .. But, 2018 is around the corner. Now's your time. Make it happen this year.

You can do it.

The Best Way To Use Your Time As A Writer: Don't Listen To The Haters

So... You work full-time. You are a janitor. You are a teacher. You are a cashier at a grocery store. 

IT DOESN'T MATTER!!!!

You know that you are a writer. You hear the voices in your head. You dream magically amazing stories in your sleep. You wake up and are like, "Damn! I need to write that down!"

But... you have Debbie Downers in your camp. You share your ideas with those around you. They say, "That's stupid."

What should you do?

Write it down. Write everything they say. Write everything you think in the moment. Write. Write. Write!!!!!

Don't listen to the haters.

Here is the reality. Most people live life unsuccessfully. They believe that they are not one of the lucky ones who get to be a writer, a movie star.... in short... a success.

They settle. I need a job. So... this company will give me a job at XX amount of dollars an hour. I need to pay the bills. 

Fall into that trap and you will never be a writer. You will be a wage earner.

Don't get me wrong... You must pay the bills... But you don't have to give up your dreams to do it.... 

I quit my day job. I decided I would make my own future. It's been rough... but I'm still at it...

As a writer, that means ignoring everyone who says I can't do it. Even family has questioned my decisions. Maybe yours has too. But... be brave. Follow your dream.

Just do it strategically...

MORE TOMORROW ON MY JOURNEY AND HOW I STOPPED WORKING FULL-TIME TO PURSUE MY WRITING DREAM...

The Worst Thing You Can Think As A Writer: I'm A Pretender...

Can you relate to this?:

You have always thought you have the talent, ideas, ability to write fiction. You have read something and said, "I could do that... And better!"

Maybe you have actually started writing something: a short story, novel, etc.

But then something happened. And that something was life. You got married. You got a new job. You lost a job. You learned you were about to be a father/mother.... 

Your writing took a back seat to what was facing you two inches from your nose.

A year later.... five years later.... a decade later.... two decades later, during you're next move forced by a divorce, you come across a single piece of paper with your words on it. Those words expressed so enthusiastically how you were going to write, and every word  was filled with naive optimism about your obvious literary future success.

I was a college junior in 1992. This was where I was. Now... I'm looking back at my collegiate writings and wondering what went wrong.

But what if I'm looking at it the wrong way?

In the time between 1992 and the present day, 2017, a lot has happened.

I served in the Army.

I earned a Bachelor's Degree... a Master's Degree.

I would marry... and divorce... and marry again... be a father to five children... but divorce, unfortunately, again.

I wrote thousands of articles as a newspaper journalist.

In short, I experienced life. 

Now at 47, I'm encountered with the musings of my 22-year-old self. As tempted as I am to be angry or disappointed with myself for not following through with my aspirations from nearly two decades ago, I realized something.

MORE TOMORROW ON MY REVELATIONS THAT HELPED ME START WRITING AGAIN

One Writer's Goal - Read A Book A Week

Trying to get back into a regular reading habit...

My initial goal is to read a book a week. Today is Monday, and the book I started is "The Word Exchange," by Alena Graedon. 

Just like I do in my writing, I like outlining every step of the way before I begin so I know where I should be every day. In this case, I divided the book into 7 parts that way I have, at the very least, the number of pages I should read each day.

Six sticky notes placed at my benchmarks throughout the book's pages: "Daily Reading Goal #1," "DRG #2," "DRG #3," etc., etc...

We'll see how it goes.

Also...since it's said by goal-setting experts that it's more likely for someone to stick to a goal if he announces it to others, here - this blog post - is my announcement of my goal to read a book a week.

Now for the hard part....

Back To Writing Despite Hardships

Been a long time since I've written.

So many excuses. Life gets hard. People stop loving you. The world seems to be against you. Why not just give up?

Yeah... Well...it's been awhile. But.... I'm not giving up. Life has kicked me in the pants...hard. Yes.. isn't when writers write? Our strength is taking the pain, joy, emotions of life and creating written work.

I forgot that. Back to writing.

Writing Prompt: Write What Frightens You

When I was growing up, I spent many days in the summer with my grandmother while my mother was at work. I spent many nights with her, too. Being a typical young boy, I often found my way into trouble.

My grandmother had a way of frightening me into obedience without lifting a finger. The power of her words and gesticulations as she served up a warning to "behave or else..." was amazing. All she had to do was tell me that some evil spirit was waiting around the corner for me the next time I misbehaved to swoop down and scratch my eyes out.

It worked on me. I remember many of her warnings to this day - stuck in my brain. As a freewriting exercise, write about what frightens you. Make it a little more interesting and write about what has frightened you at different times in your life.

The idea of evil spirits are still scary, but at this stage of life, other things frighten me more: losing my little girl in a crowd of people, or the love of my life, for example.

What frightens you? Place yourself in that scene. Use your five senses as you write.

1 Thing All Writers Must Endure To Succeed

Pain. Disappointment. Name it. Sorry... There are many things.

There's not one "thing" that we must endure. In truth, there are many things we must endure. That begs the question, since I'm posing it. What am I enduring?

Enough to knock a man off his feet. Love. Yes. It's a bitch. It's enough to totally screw up someone's thoughts.

Oh.. the pain. Yes!. You're a writer? Then embrace the pain. Examine it. What kind of pain is it? Color it. What noise does it make? Tell me.