My ideas aren’t going to write themselves.
It’s not good enough that I have the story completed in my head. It means nothing if it’s not on paper somewhere or being shared. Seriously… the Publisher is gonna have my ass if I don’t get some of these ideas down on paper. I gotta get trucking. There are people waiting for the sequel to “Rise of the Demon Inferno”… plus, I just got the green light for another book that just might serve as a special installment to the “Healed and Chosen” trilogy from another author at the same publishing house. But if I don’t write this stuff down, I’m gonna forget it. I always do. And I lament that lost gems that receded back into the infinite ocean of my imagination.
I don’t write enough daily.
I had a goal to set aside two hours a day to write. I failed at that in 2022 and when I look back on why, I have only my spiritual and mental lethargy to blame. With all of the ideas that I want to launch, it is imperative that I get into the habit of writing constantly. This includes if I want to freelance as a project manager. I have to be used to writing all the time, and I’ve severely slacked on that during 2022. I need to get back to a space where I am writing at least 2-4 hours a day.
I am better at it the more I do it.
So why am I not doing it more??? Seriously, I have pinpointed this weird… alien quirk of an emotion embedded deep within me where I actually feel guilty for escaping into these fantasy worlds with my characters. So I force myself to do other things, which is dumb I know. It’s something I definitely need to discuss further with my therapist.
When I don’t read, my writing suffers.
I’ll admit that I can’t read as voraciously as I used to when I was younger, but I can read at least two books a week. I took an honest inventory of my screen watching time per week and, I’ll be honest, the number is higher than I thought it would be. Now, I remember watching a lot of TV as a kid, but the difference is that I used to read a book usually while the cartoons played in the background. I’d be able to absorb both what I was hearing from the TV show and project images in my head while also reading a book and being completely immersed in that world and seeing those scenes as well. It’s a pretty trippy feeling. Like being a 4th-dimensional being that can watch and feel multiple worlds at once. I’ll admit, it’s a gift I have that I’ve allowed to grow rusty over the years. But going forward, I really am going to read two books a week – no matter how small – and ensure that I actually reach my Goodreads reading goal for 2023.
I have a long list of books I want to devour in 2023. Books that will sharpen some of my skills, open my mental doors to other ideas and worlds, and some that will just tug on my emotions and remind me that I do have a heart. LOL
Writing is at the core of EVERYTHING I do.
This probably should have been number one, but oh well. I write many different types of pieces – technical articles, instructional documents, project plans, scrips for entertainment content and online classes… and I love how versatile I’m able to be. But I’ve come to realize that the reason so many of my lofty plans for this year never came to fruition is because I never wrote out action plans that laid out the scopes of the projects, nor did I write up the documentation that was actually needed for us to move forward, like job postings. Yikes… I also lament the time I wasted in 2022. If I’d been more focused and driven, I’d already have all of this stuff ready to go. Instead, I’m still at square one finally facing a truth that I already knew.
I MUST keep submitting. No matter what.
I want to get into the routine of submitting to 3-5 different publications per week, including super small ones. It’s time to rebuild my portfolio and name as a writer. I allowed myself to fall off for too many years. If I want to really make some changes in this industry, then I need to get back to writing the articles and editorial pieces that showcase my expertise and actually allow me to help the people that I got into this business for in the first place.
I write what interests me, and I’m one of those weird people who find themselves interested in new things constantly, resulting in an uncontrollable urge to research and take notes about said topic. Why not turn that work and information into a helpful intro-level article to submit for small publications in that genre? The worst that could happen in a said predicament is receiving a rejection for whatever reason, and since the word ‘no’ has never bothered me, it’s time to get back to racking up those rejections… and acceptances.
