We welcome writing coach and bestselling author Angela Ackerman for this week’s pep talk. Grab these tips and be encouraged for your third week of JuNoWriMo!
If our path has one guidepost of truth, it is this: writing isn’t easy. Not by a mile.
It’s not the craft of writing we must learn or the publishing waters we must navigate. Yes, so much effort will go into these things, but the hardest part? The thing that causes our hands to sweat, and our fingers to hesitate on the keys?
It’s ourselves. Our own self-doubt, our worries that our words won’t be good enough, that we’ll never be able to transcribe the story that vibrates our skull with the desire to get out.
Here’s a second truth, one we sometimes forget: creating is big. Taking something unformed, a scattered collection of ideas and emotions that exist inside us and then attempting to set it loose as a cohesive story? Not for the faint of heart. It takes incredible courage. Boldness. And, more than anything else, passion.
A third truth? The fact that you’re here, fingers poised, is amazing. We all know someone (usually multiple someones) who say they want to write a story, that they have ideas, notes even, snippets written…and yet that’s as far as they ever go. Others we know can’t even voice their desire to write. They can’t let the truth out. The dream is just too big for them.
You, however, are different. You’re here, you’re ready, and you’ve embraced the dream. So whatever you do this JuNoWriMo, don’t let doubt sabotage the greatness inside of you—not ten words in, not ten thousand words in. Be a warrior.
Should uncertainty hit at any point, here are some strategies to help you move past it and write. Continue reading “Be Braver Than You Ever Thought Possible: Pep Talk Week 3”
