A Writer’s Voice: "Oh, I’ll Get To That Later" - syndicated from @ImSimplyDebbie
The following is syndicated from www.imsimplydebbie.com and is posted here with permission.
As a writer, I get to set my own schedule and write when I want to. In turn, I also get to not write when I actually want too. What I mean by that is, sometimes I want to write but have nothing profound to say. Other times I want to write but I am too lazy to make the huge commitment of going to my computer desk, finding something to write about and committing myself to actually write.
The thoughts go through my mind of all the blog posts I need to write, the guest posts I want to query in order to get my voice out there and the necessary words I need to write for my book to get farther along than it is. However, there is this voice inside of me that sometimes says...
What I’ve realized is, no matter how I might disguise it or how I might choose to ignore it, what I am really doing is procrastinating and first and foremost sabotaging my writing career.
If you have ever been there yourself, you know exactly what I am referring to. Here are three reasons I have come to know well as to why I procrastinate.
1. A fear of failure—come on, we have all been there before. You hit the send button on an email to an editor of a magazine and you think...
It can be so debilitating to our self esteem, that fear of rejection, most writers know well that we choose to stay hidden. We would rather not try sometimes than to fail.
2. You don’t have anything to say—as a writer; people think you always have something to say. We can describe things that the average person usually can’t even put into words. However, we too, get that feeling sometimes. We just don’t know what to say.
3. Problems keeping to a set schedule—admit it, sometimes you would rather read in your bed, than write. Sometimes you just don’t have the energy needed to finish that chapter, that blog post or that magazine article you’ve been meaning to write. When you work for yourself, it is hard to keep yourself motivated to write when you don’t have to. No one is forcing you to write. You don’t have a boss hanging over you all the time. The schedule sometimes gets pushed aside.
Although the above excuses are all valid reasons not to write, I will now give you two reasons why you HAVE to write. These two reasons alone get me out of my bed and get me to leave the excuses where they belong, in the past.
1. People look forward to your writing—Having a blog and readership as a writer is one of the best rewards. You have a responsibility to your audience to provide content to them at least once a week at the minimum. This keeps them interested in you and helps to keep your readers coming back to your blog. It also gives you a writer’s voice when your book is out and you want people to read it. If you write regularly, you will find the reward with blog comments, Twitter retweets, Facebook likes and even the occasional person who says “you made my day” This is reason enough for me to keep on writing.
2. Face it—You want to be writing—If writing is your true passion, then you understand what I mean when I say “you would rather be writing, than almost anything” Although sometimes it can be hard to think of a blog idea, write a query to a magazine or finish that chapter in your book you’ve been procrastinating on, you must admit it gets you going. You find passion in it. You are a true writer. A good writer. The best time to write is when you don’t want to. The best material by writers comes when you least expect it. So write even when you don’t think you want to, because you might just find you next great idea.
Being a writer isn’t always easy. The critics will get to you. The pay will make you wonder why you bother. Sometimes it is easier to be lazy and say “Oh, I’ll get to that later” but remember why you became a writer. Remember what made you love to write in the first place. Soon you will be writing and not even realize what time it is. A true writer will find passion even in the times they don’t want to.
“Writing isn’t always easy, it doesn’t come with immediate rewards, but a true writer that sticks with it, will find their passion is its own reward” #SimplyDebbie
As a writer, I get to set my own schedule and write when I want to. In turn, I also get to not write when I actually want too. What I mean by that is, sometimes I want to write but have nothing profound to say. Other times I want to write but I am too lazy to make the huge commitment of going to my computer desk, finding something to write about and committing myself to actually write.
Debbie DeVita
Simply Debbie Follow @ImSimplyDebbie
- “I’ll get to that later”
- “It isn’t that important”
- “I can make my own schedule, let me relax a bit”
What I’ve realized is, no matter how I might disguise it or how I might choose to ignore it, what I am really doing is procrastinating and first and foremost sabotaging my writing career.
If you have ever been there yourself, you know exactly what I am referring to. Here are three reasons I have come to know well as to why I procrastinate.
1. A fear of failure—come on, we have all been there before. You hit the send button on an email to an editor of a magazine and you think...
- “Am I really good enough?”
- “Will they like me?”
- “What am I even doing here?”
It can be so debilitating to our self esteem, that fear of rejection, most writers know well that we choose to stay hidden. We would rather not try sometimes than to fail.
2. You don’t have anything to say—as a writer; people think you always have something to say. We can describe things that the average person usually can’t even put into words. However, we too, get that feeling sometimes. We just don’t know what to say.
3. Problems keeping to a set schedule—admit it, sometimes you would rather read in your bed, than write. Sometimes you just don’t have the energy needed to finish that chapter, that blog post or that magazine article you’ve been meaning to write. When you work for yourself, it is hard to keep yourself motivated to write when you don’t have to. No one is forcing you to write. You don’t have a boss hanging over you all the time. The schedule sometimes gets pushed aside.
Although the above excuses are all valid reasons not to write, I will now give you two reasons why you HAVE to write. These two reasons alone get me out of my bed and get me to leave the excuses where they belong, in the past.
1. People look forward to your writing—Having a blog and readership as a writer is one of the best rewards. You have a responsibility to your audience to provide content to them at least once a week at the minimum. This keeps them interested in you and helps to keep your readers coming back to your blog. It also gives you a writer’s voice when your book is out and you want people to read it. If you write regularly, you will find the reward with blog comments, Twitter retweets, Facebook likes and even the occasional person who says “you made my day” This is reason enough for me to keep on writing.
2. Face it—You want to be writing—If writing is your true passion, then you understand what I mean when I say “you would rather be writing, than almost anything” Although sometimes it can be hard to think of a blog idea, write a query to a magazine or finish that chapter in your book you’ve been procrastinating on, you must admit it gets you going. You find passion in it. You are a true writer. A good writer. The best time to write is when you don’t want to. The best material by writers comes when you least expect it. So write even when you don’t think you want to, because you might just find you next great idea.
Being a writer isn’t always easy. The critics will get to you. The pay will make you wonder why you bother. Sometimes it is easier to be lazy and say “Oh, I’ll get to that later” but remember why you became a writer. Remember what made you love to write in the first place. Soon you will be writing and not even realize what time it is. A true writer will find passion even in the times they don’t want to.
“Writing isn’t always easy, it doesn’t come with immediate rewards, but a true writer that sticks with it, will find their passion is its own reward” #SimplyDebbie
