Only you can kill your dream
This post was inspired by a livejournal.com post I read by Jim Butcher, author of “The Dresden Files,” called “The Most Important Thing an Aspiring Author Needs To Know.” When I read it the other day, it brought tears to my eyes.
Don’t kill your own dream.
In his post, Butcher reminds us that any dream worth achieving requires the hard work of showing up regularly and making it happen. And it IS hard work.
When it comes to writing, he says:
“There probably aren’t going to be very many people who are actively supporting your efforts. You’ll probably have more than one person say or do something that crushes your heart like an empty Coke can. You’ll probably, at some point, want to quit rather than keep facing that uncertainty. In fact, the vast majority of aspiring authors (somewhere over 99 percent) self-terminate their dream. They quit. Think about this for a minute, because it’s important: THEY KILL THEIR OWN DREAM.”
In the face of all that adversity, it’s pretty easy to lose faith, give up hope, and want to quit before you ever really get started.
Don’t.
You signed up for this dream for a reason.
You want to write.
You are called to write.
Don’t kill your dream.
Being a writer means showing up regularly, putting your butt in your seat, and writing consistently. And seeing it through to completion, one word at a time.
I love Julia Cameron’s line, “Suit up, shut up, and show up.”
Being a writer means having the courage to face the fears that stop you cold.
Butcher says,”When it’s all done and you’re holding your first novel in your hand, you’re going to look back at your breaking-in period and wonder what all the drama was about. All the things that wrenched you inside out during the torment will suddenly seem small and unimportant.”
Don’t stop now.
Remember:
- Don’t give up. Keep writing. You’re the only one that can make this happen.
- Show up regularly. Write frequently and consistently. It’s much easier to dive back in when you write regularly.
- Build a solid pattern of writing into your life. Organize your life around your writing vision.
- Deal with your inner doubts.
- Protect your dream like the precious seedling it is — plant it in fertile soil and tend it like your life depends upon it.