There’s a new bandwagon in the writing community, actually, it’s in nearly every community. The trend dictates that it’s okay to fail, in fact, it’s not just okay – you should expect to fail. And if you’re not careful you might jump on, tricked into not living your passion and not striving to achieve your goals.
Indeed, failure is imminent. I’ve even stated as much. But there’s a problem and I discovered it the hard way. (It’s always the hard way, isn’t it?)
~ Note: This is a guest post by Lisa Tener, she is the recipient of the Silver Stevie Award for Mentor/Coach of the Year 2014. For a free guided visualization to connect with your inner muse, click here. You can also read Lisa’s book writing blog or find her articles on writing and publishing on the Huffington Post. ~
As writers, we often expect our inner muse to produce on demand. Sometimes it works and sometimes…you know…it starts with feeling a little blocked, turns into dread, you pass by your desk feeling guilty, and then you let the papers pile on your desk to completely avoid writing.
I’m not always comfortable admitting this, but I make mistakes all the time. Some are major blunders, and some are not that serious. All of them make me feel like an idiot on some level. Sometimes I wish I would never fail, make a mistake, or stub my darn toe again.
And yet, without the potential for failure, and actually falling on my face more than a few times, I would never have had any successes. I would never have tried harder, better, and strived to thrive. In fact, I would not have created this blog, and published any books on writing, and tried to connect with you on such a personal level.
I ended a recent post with a quote by Stephen King about the muse and I am going to begin this post with the same quote:
There is a muse, but he’s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter…
King believes there is a muse and I wholeheartedly agree with him; furthermore, I’ve discovered exactly who the muse is.
It’s someone you know.
When you’re in a critique group that works for you, it’s the best. They encourage you, provide accountability, as well as teach you how to be a better writer…
Drumroll, please! I present to you the champion of the “How Writing Has Positively Influenced YOUR Life” writing contest: “Why Write” by Troy McLaughlin. Join me in congratulating Troy in the comments below.
I have a friend who loves to write. I’m more along the lines of Hemingway, bleeding on the page. Not literally, but it’s still painful.
Pain.
It’s doled out by the critic and the dude.
Today I begin presenting the winners of the “How Writing Has Positively Influenced YOUR Life” writing contest with 3rd place, by Cole Nemeth. Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. Over the following few days I will be posting all of the winning entries. Stay tuned, and help me congratulate Cole in the comments.
Note: This is a guest post by Bryan Collins. He is a writing coach on a mission to teach people how to write. He’s put together a free 20-part email course for writers and a Beginner’s Guide to Twitter that will save you time. Get both now on Become a Writer Today.
Writers use Twitter to engage with their readers, to promote their content and to talk to other writers. In this post I present to you six time-saving secrets that will help you get started on Twitter today!
Over the last few years a lot of people have written me “Thank You” emails for an eBook I wrote titled, Good Enough –Stop Seeking Perfection and Approval. It’s a very short book with a basic, yet profound premise that you’re good enough. That’s it.
Or is it?
Why has such a short eBook had such an impact, become something of a viral phenomenon, and (what really surprises me), why do so many consider it my best work? Good questions…
If you stopped posting on your blog, or never published another book, or just altogether stopped sharing your writing, would anyone miss you?