Do you want to keep your writing dream alive?
Then you’re going to have to fight for it.
The villains in my story are not vampires or psycho-killers, but they can suck the life out of me and kill my spirit just the same.
One is a grade eleven geography teacher, one’s a high school crush from the old neighbourhood, one’s a smarmy guy in a fancy boardroom, and the other one is a pitiless workshop leader.
These are the villains of my writing life.
They creep into my bedroom at night and whisper to me that I’m not smart enough, not interesting enough, not talented enough, not good enough. They barge into my psyche and start trashing the place. They rip apart my ideas and ridicule my novel. They toss my self worth around the room and stomp all over my dreams of ever being published. They leave me shivering in the corner amidst the shredded remains of my novel.
Then I wake up and realize none of this is real.
We all have our demons. We’ve all heard crappy people say crappy things to us at one time or another in our lives. If you want to keep your writing dream alive, don’t listen.
We hang onto that crap for way too long, letting it croon its repetitive song at centre stage in our brains, while we relegate any praise, awards or accomplishments to back-up singer status. But if we really want to keep on writing, we have to become the heroes in our own story. We have to stand up to those villains, be vigilant, stay awake to what matters and not let nightmares shape our writing life. To truly come to a place where we see ourselves as good enough, we must defend, fight, envision, love and do our writing. We must let our writer lead the charge.
Defend
Defending your right to keep your writing dream alive is one way to fend of the bad guys. When they show up, exercise your right to not let them in. Gently close the door and keep writing. Even if the writing isn’t perfect, flowing or great. Occasionally they’ll hammer at the door, but put your head down and stay focused on the work. Slowly, they’ll lose interest and leave you alone. Ignore them long enough and they’ll go away for good.
Fight
There comes a time in every heroes story when you have to keep your writing dream alive by kicking some ass. Sometimes those villains are sneaky buggers and manage to get past the door, invading your psyche and acting like they own the place. Well they don’t. You own you. Take them out! Call each one out, look them straight in the teeth and let them know who’s boss once and for all. Standing up to this old baggage, those long-held hurts or those deep wounds can be the catalyst that finally exposes their weaknesses and sends them packing. Once you see them for what they truly are — false, ridiculous, timeworn, useless or petty – they tend to disappear in a hurry.
Envision
Remember, keep your writing dream alive, not your nightmare. See it, believe it and live it. Sure it’s not real at the moment, but neither is your nightmare. Both can fuel you in good or bad ways. Choose to fuel your writing life with dreams of joy, abundance, family, fortune, fame, connection, adoration, fans, blessings, readings, best sellers, Ellen appearances, a house on the ocean … whatever works for you. Your villains will hate this vision and crawl back to wherever they came from. Let them.
Love
Take your writer out once in a while and romance them. Treat them like they’re special because … they are. Let them know you love them. Make them a nice cup of tea, arrange a cozy corner for them to write in, take them for a long walk to ponder a chapter, take them out to a lovely café to write, give them a good book to curl up with and be sure to let them get lots of rest, good food and exercise. Taking care of your writing hero will ensure they are strong enough to defend you when your villains try to bust in.
Do keep your writing dream alive
Write. Write when the villains knock. Write even when they bust in the door. Write about them. Write about your dreams, your love of writing and your inner hero. Write. Write. Write and live happily ever after.
keep your writing dream alive!
