(Remember what I said about all of you being seeds back when I started this blog? That’s you in the picture. You are small but growing and learning. But it’s not just you in the photo. So please don’t steal it–I ask this on behalf of the other seedlings out there. Thank you.)
So I said I’d do better today. I sort of did. I wrote, and what little I got done was pretty good. I’m writing a pretty callous character right now, so it’s pretty fun to have someone be casual about horrible, awful things. I’m looking forward to writing more of him.
But you know what? It’s not good enough. Remember when I was talking about “good enough” never being enough?
It’s still true. I didn’t write much. But I had time to write more. And in that time, I didn’t write. I’m lazy and stupid. And publicly berating myself. Because sometimes that’s what you need to do in order to make yourself be productive (hence the creation of the blog).
Here’s a good place for me to start making excuses. I had a headache that wouldn’t go away all day. I’m going to my youngest uncle’s commitment ceremony on Saturday. I have a vacation I’m leaving for on Sunday (more on that later in the post). Personal things are stressing me out. Upcoming college stuff really stressing me out. And so on.
Excuses are easy to make, aren’t they? But think about it: Haven’t you had a day worse than today where you still got more done?
I work really well under pressure. I spent a few hours in the hospital on a school day when I had my first kidney stone. And then I went and competed in an FFA competition that very night.
If I can do that, then am I not capable of writing more when physical problems are the least of my worries?
If you can take care of your physical needs, then the rest will come after. I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating in this context.
There’s still that guy I talked about who dictated a book by blinking one of his eyes. If he can do that, then surely I can do just as well without the handicap.
Surely.
Even then, I feel like I’m never good enough for anyone or anything. That crap can’t fly if you want to be a writer. Even if you suck or think you suck, you have to keep on writing if you want to have even the smallest, most minuscule chance of getting better.
Stop making “good enough” what you’ll settle for. (Man, I’m breaking a lot of accepted grammar rules in this post. And it feels great. If you can understand the English language really well, then you know exactly how to use it in an articulate way while not really breaking any actual rules of grammar.)
If you want to write, then stop letting things get in the way. This is your life. It’s time for you to start living it.
Speaking of life, I am going on a vacation and will be leaving Sunday. We are going to be in the car for a very long time, and Internet will be wired, so I may not be able to post that day. In fact, I may not be able to keep up my streak of posting every day. That makes me sad. 🙁 But life outside of the Internet happens. Make up your own assignments on days I don’t post. I will definitely be doing some writing in my downtime, but please be patient if I don’t get in a blog post every day. Love you guys, but I do have family to spend time with. Hope to talk to you soon. 🙂
Your assignment: No matter how busy or awful your day is, make time for writing. Write when you wake up and before you go to bed. Write while you eat your dinner. Spend at least 10 minutes on each of these. If you spend more, then great! Keep it up. Don’t let the creativity stop! If you have to go to school or work or something, then make sure you get up early enough to plan for creative rushes. Don’t blame me if you’re late. If you eat with other people, then don’t write while you eat. But do it before or afterward. Just politely let them know that it’s something you need to do for yourself. If they can’t understand that, then maybe you need to reevaluate your relationships with them. Topics you should try to write about: a character who overcomes extreme circumstances to survive and/or succeed, a time when you found time to do something you enjoyed when people or life tried to keep you from doing so, and working under pressure. Okay, long assignment done! Get on with it!