"Yesterday you said tomorrow"
There’s a weight loss center near my parents’ house that regularly sets up funny or motivational signs by their driveway. Most of them are pretty hokey, but the one quoted in my title never ceases to strike me... Granted, part of that is because it's posted up in giant red letters like this:
It’s not going to make me start exercising or anything crazy like that. I do enough baby-lifts, jump-over-the-legos obstacle courses and run-the-toddler-up-all-the-stairs-to-the-bathroom-before-she-pees-on-me fitness routines to keep me from formal exercising for now.
But the saying applies so well to writing. I consider myself a highly motivated person, yet I am so often susceptible to a way of thinking that allows me to put things off. “This has been a really hard week, so I need more sleep.” Or “I just need to figure out my homeschooling routine by itself before adding morning writing to it.” And so on. Obviously the problem with this mindset is that it self-perpetuates if you let it.
This all applies on the grand scale as much--or more so--than on the small scale. It disappoints me when I hear someone say, “I’m going to write a book someday, but I just don’t have the time now.” Really? Do you really think you will ever have the time? If you’re serious about being an author someday, you have to start being a writer now.
Here are some figures: If you don’t start writing until your kids are all grown up--well, easy answer. You won’t have a novel until at least a few months after that. If you start writing only 100 words a day, you’ll have a draft of 50,000 words in about a year and a half. Even if you only write 50 words a day, you’ll have a draft in three years.
Like every art, writing demands practice. Great writing demands a habit of work that will only come about from--guess what?--working every day. Maybe over the next several years you’ll write a handful of unpublishable junk. The truth is, the junk has to get out of your system before the masterpieces can push through.
So write...today. :)
YESTERDAY YOU SAID TOMORROW!
It’s not going to make me start exercising or anything crazy like that. I do enough baby-lifts, jump-over-the-legos obstacle courses and run-the-toddler-up-all-the-stairs-to-the-bathroom-before-she-pees-on-me fitness routines to keep me from formal exercising for now.
But the saying applies so well to writing. I consider myself a highly motivated person, yet I am so often susceptible to a way of thinking that allows me to put things off. “This has been a really hard week, so I need more sleep.” Or “I just need to figure out my homeschooling routine by itself before adding morning writing to it.” And so on. Obviously the problem with this mindset is that it self-perpetuates if you let it.
This all applies on the grand scale as much--or more so--than on the small scale. It disappoints me when I hear someone say, “I’m going to write a book someday, but I just don’t have the time now.” Really? Do you really think you will ever have the time? If you’re serious about being an author someday, you have to start being a writer now.
Here are some figures: If you don’t start writing until your kids are all grown up--well, easy answer. You won’t have a novel until at least a few months after that. If you start writing only 100 words a day, you’ll have a draft of 50,000 words in about a year and a half. Even if you only write 50 words a day, you’ll have a draft in three years.
Like every art, writing demands practice. Great writing demands a habit of work that will only come about from--guess what?--working every day. Maybe over the next several years you’ll write a handful of unpublishable junk. The truth is, the junk has to get out of your system before the masterpieces can push through.
So write...today. :)
Great post Faith!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Melissa!
DeleteWise words and sage advice! Tomorrow I'll join you in queryland :)
ReplyDeleteReally tomorrow?? :) Just kidding. I wish you every success and I just know you'll find it soon.
DeleteI need to remind me of this all the time - in exercising, weight loss, AND writing. Once you overcome the initial hurdle, it doesn't always get easier, either. Healthy eating and an exercise routine can get thrown off my vacation or illness or sheer laziness. It's the same with a writing routine.
ReplyDeleteAh, life. Ain't it grand? =)
I need to remind MYSELF, not me. Sheesh. Hit the publish button too soon!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I do that all the time. :)
DeleteYou're right--the initial hurdle is just the beginning. I truly believe that pursuing the arts is just like pursuing virtue and requires constant vigilance. And renewal of promises.
That's a really good phrase for a procrastinator like myself! I'm going to remember that one. Maybe it will help :)
ReplyDeleteI hope it does! :)
DeleteGreat advice! I'm going to follow it. :) I'm putting the babies down and pulling out the computer straight after that!
ReplyDeleteThis would make a good title.
ReplyDeleteYour last paragraph is SO true.
And wait for the kids to grow up? No way! Because then they will bear you grandchildren. Will you wait for them to grow up, too? And then your parents will need care. And then... and then...
Amen! I have been saying that "tomorrow I will start learning Spanish" for the last two years. So I guess that means I will start today. Thanks for the reminder, great post.
ReplyDelete