Do you look for examples of perseverance at work in your writing? It could be the result of something as simple as reading something in a book on writing setting off an “aha” that you immediately put to use in your current WIP. Maybe it’s finally finishing a scene you’ve been wrestling with for a month (or longer).
Maybe it’s something that sneaks up and surprises you all together.
I had two examples of perseverance at work in my writing yesterday. The first was completing the first draft of a side project that stemmed from a “What if” I’d had while attending a virtual writing conference last fall. The focus was on developing your fiction—characters, tension, desires, obstacles—you know the drill. And I found myself asking, what would happen if I were to approach developing my writing journey the same way I approach developing my characters’s?
Next thing I know, I’m reading my books on writing and looking at characters from some of my favorite books in a different light. The framework for the idea was completed in November, yesterday’s extra dose of post-vacation energy resulted in me completing my first draft of a little booklet. Now I can start putting it to the test, and if all goes well, I hope to share what I’ve discovered with you soon!
My second win was learning one of the more challenging 4-week studies I created for Ministry Pass last fall is already available in their catalog. Seeing the cover graphic for the first time along with a summary based on the blurb I’d originally written to focus in my study opened the emotional waterworks when I realized that something I’d written was now “real.”
And not for the first time, either.
This morning I woke up feeling jubilant because one seed that I’d been given last fall is now a little green shoot pushing its head above the soil. It still needs some nurturing and special attention, but it’s growing. Another seed has grown its first set of real leaves and is ready to be transplanted elsewhere. And I pray that it produces a fruitful harvest in time.
But more than that, I woke up feeling accomplished because I was able to see tangible examples of perseverance at work in my life. And that in turn has motivated me to continue pressing forward in my journey.
Look for the wins this month!
January is often the month we pick to start new challenges and work toward new goals. So I’m going to issue a challenge to you—take this month to actively look for areas in your writing life where perseverance is paying off. Use those wins to help fuel your creative passion as we embark on another journey around the sun.
Write boldly and with courage, my friend!
Jen
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay