Why You Don't Have to Be the Best Writer

Nothing weaker than water.
Nothing stronger than rock.
Still, a slow flow of water can cut through mountains.
~  Taoist Proverb

Sometimes it's easy to feel discouraged about writing because you think you're not good enough.

But what you need to understand is that you don't have to be the best writer.

You just have to keep writing.

Even a small amount of writing every day is better than none.

If you only write 100 words a day, you'll have written 36,500 words by this time next year. That's a whole book's worth of writing.

So don't use lack of time as an excuse not to write. Everyone has time to write every day, yet most do nothing.

You don't have to be great, you just have to outwork everyone else.

Get the writing habit.

Sit down with pen and paper/blank page on a screen, and even if you don't know what to write, just start.

Today is New Year's Eve, so make your resolution for next year to sit down and write every day. Even if it's only 100 words.

Make 2020 your best writing year ever.

And here's another quote to think about:

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.
~Zig Ziglar

What I Do When The Puppy Won't Let Me Write

This week I'm dog sitting. I'm looking after my daughter's dog for a week.

She's a sweet little thing and is only small. She's a cross between a mini fox terrier and a Chihuahua (I had to Google how to spell that).

So tiny yet such a distraction.

Even now as I try to write this, she is sitting at my feet whining then barking to draw my attention to the ball she's placed next to my foot and is waiting for me to throw it for her. So I find myself intermittently throwing the ball while I try to write.

I soon realised earlier today that it is almost impossible for me to write while she is distracting me in this way (or any other way).

At first I thought I'd give up and not write at all. But I have a lot to do with a new book coming out soon and a new website that I'm working on as well, so in my inimitable wisdom, I decided to do things that don't actually require too much writing, like working on my new website layout and writing up a list of tasks that I need to complete.

This sort of work takes more thinking and planning and I can sit on the floor while I do it so that I can throw the ball at the same time. Also, doing this sort of work is easier than writing because throwing the ball destroys my writing 'flow.' I need to keep 100% focused to write, which usually isn't difficult, but with the ball-obsessed-dog distraction, it's almost impossible to stay focused.

This is what happens when life gets in the way of writing. Which happens more often than I like.

But instead of complaining and wasting time, I just shift to working on something that doesn't need 100% focus.

And I always stop at least once every hour to go into the garden and throw the ball for 10 minutes without being distracted by my work. Because even small, ball-obsessed dogs need my full attention now and again.

And at the end of the day, there is always time for a walk too.

But in the meantime, I don't let anything stop me from working. I just change what I'm working on to suit my environment.

You can see for yourself just how ball-obsessed this little dog is by clicking the link below.

It's only a few seconds of video and it shows two dogs (one large, one small) playing, while our little dog is ignoring them because her attention is only on the two balls out of her reach. And she's doing the best she can to get them.  

https://twitter.com/RuthIsWriting/status/1191486528700071936/video/1  

It's Not What You Said, It's The Way You Said It

Yesterday, I watched a fascinating video on YouTube.

It was short talk (less than 45 minutes) by author Dean Wesley Smith.

It's called The Attitude of a Fiction Author, but the subject is suitable for any writer.

In fact, Dean tells you to write what you enjoy writing instead of doing the kind of writing you think you SHOULD do, or what you think will earn you the most money, because, he says, if you're not enjoying what you're doing, you won't be good at it, nor will you be able to do it year after year, which will make your writing career unsustainable.

Not only that, but it will interfere with how you write. In other words, the tone of your writing.

His overall message is to have fun with your writing. Just write, proofread (don't rewrite) and publish. Then get on with your next book, short story, or whatever.

He also said something that I found remarkably interesting, and that is, if you publish your work (whether it's a book or some other sort of writing) and it doesn't sell, don't take it off the market because it will eventually find the right market. And it may not be your book that's bad. It could be the cover or the sales page, but if you leave it alone, eventually the right readers will find your book and love it.

This was one of the best talks about writing that I've heard in a long time. His presentation is extremely uplifting and once I'd finished watching it and taking notes (I wrote copious notes), I was inspired to write.

You can see the video below.

It's well worth a watch.

And as this time of year is so close to the New Year, this talk could really motivate you to have your best, and most fun, year of writing, ever.

Enjoy.

My Grinch-Like Christmas Writing and Planning

Today is 26th December. The day after Christmas (if you do that sort of thing).

And because it was Christmas Day yesterday, everything is closed so there is nowhere to go, plus it rained all day, which is unusual for this part of Australia, but the rain did break a 6-month drought for which we are all thankful. And today the sun is shining again.

I don't do the Christmas thing and our plans to spend time picnicking and swimming with friends who also don't follow the flock when it comes to this time of year, was scuppered by the bad weather, not that I would have stayed there all day.

I would have left early anyway because I had plans, and I find it emotionally draining to socialize for too long.

The 25th of December is always my day to plan my writing projects for the next 12 months.

So I locked myself in my writing room at the back of the house and looked through all my notebooks, and plotted and planned what I'm going to be working on for the next 12 months. And I'm going to start work on it all today. Not New Years Day. Why wait?

And strangely, locking myself away from the rest of the world in my Grinch-like way is something I always enjoy. I just close the door, listen to an audio that helps me concentrate, and get to work.

I would tell you what my plans are, but I won't because no matter how good the plans and how well I've mapped it all out, things happen. Every year things happen that take me away from my writing so I always spend time trying to catch up. Sometimes it's things that have to take priority and I don't get to choose what happens. But I do get to choose how I deal with it.

But this all impacts on my writing time in a negative way.

And to be honest, losing writing time and having to lock myself away in my Grinch-like style so that I can try and catch up, isn't such a bad thing. I don't mind doing that. I often come into my writing room at night and work for a few hours too. I used to call it my office, but that sounds, well, just too officious. Calling it a writing room makes it sound much more like the creative space that it is.

So, for now, I'm going to keep my writing plans to myself.

But one thing I will tell you is that my latest book will be published next month (January 2020).

I've already had the book cover put up on the sales page (which isn't finished yet) just so you can take a sneak peek.

It's called, Mission Critical For Life: Start Living Life On Your Terms By Pursuing Your True Life Mission.

This book will help you to write more than you ever have done before once you make writing your mission and prioritize it. And I'll tell you EXACTLY how to do it.

I'll give you more updates about it soon.

In the meantime, what are your writing plans? If you don't know, it's time to start planning.

https://ruthiswriting.com/books/MCFL.html