Progress to Success

To those who need some encouragement for the day,

I hope your having a lovely day or week whenever or wherever you might be reading this.

If you don’t know, I have been writing a book for the past 6 months, finding time in my busy schedule to sit down and write. And sometimes it has been hard to make time to write because there are so many things that keep me busy like school, my mental and physical health, and life in general. So usually writing takes second precedence over everything, but part of my goals for this new year is to really make it something that’s just as important as everything else in my life.

I find that I always put off writing because I’m scared to continue. I’m scared that if I keep writing, I’ll write something bad or change something that was good. I’m scared that my writing will never be good enough, so I put it second. But since getting back into writing over winter break, I have just been feeling more confident about it. I have felt like the edits I have been making have been going better than I hoped. I know there’s still a long way to go with my edits and I’ll probably have to do lots more edits before I get to a point where I find an agent or a publisher or whatever the publishing process is.

I have been making strides and that’s all I can do.

I have been progressing and it’s the best feeling in the world—-when something you feared so much becomes something you conquer and become stronger or better at each day you show up, you practice, and you work. I have worked with my story and trying to tighten up my plot and to create new scenes to replace old ones that I didn’t quite like. My heart sped up a mile a minute the first time I deleted a huge chunk of a scene on my document because I felt like “what if I’m doing is wrong?” Then I took a step back and realized that I’m just trying to make it better and if I delete what I wrote (I still have an original copy though), then it’s not a loss, it’s a gain. And chances are, I’ll probably erase and tweak what I newly wrote again.

I have also been creating new scenes. It just feels like I’m writing my story over again with a fresh perspective from the first time around. I’m not changing the entire plot, but the plot just builds and sounds, well, better.

Do you ever just write and not know what you’re writing until it’s pouring out of your brain to your fingertips to the screen? Because that’s me.

I have a rough outline to say the least of my book and all the ideas and scenes I want to happen. I have kept pretty much to my outline, but then when I’m writing in the moment, new scenes just pop into my mind like a lightbulb going off and then that lightbulb ignites my fingertips to type what I’m envisioning out onto the screen. And it’s like I never thought of that scene before! It’s just kind of crazy how no matter how much or how detailed you plan something, things can change and it’s amazing how something you never knew was going to happen, happens because you created it right then and there. Weird, right? But when I reflect at the end of each wiring session, I can thoroughly say I grin because adding a new scene I never knew I needed or wanted until that moment, is so fitting and right. It makes the book progress better.

And it really is the most satisfying feeling in the world.

When you progress, your progressions progresses. That sounds a little bit, or a lot a bit, redundant, but it’s true. If you work towards something with every fiber of your being, then you get better at it. And when you start to get better at something, the rate at which you get better at something, improves as well. And you just keep getting better with more practice, time, and patience. Everything you do is a skill that needs to be worked on and worked with. Give yourself time to fine tune your skill. If failure to progress scares you, know that it scares everyone, but if no one progressed, we would all be stagnant and getting no where in life.

Whether you too are writing a book, doing a project or taking a test for school, are an athlete, are an artist, or are a parent, know that things take time. You will get better the more time you practice and work towards whatever you’re trying to accomplish. I hope you are able to progress in whatever you’re trying to do in life (with good intention) and that it may bring you success and joy.

I wish you nothing but progression and love,

As always,