“Sometimes we have to make three left turns, instead of one right, to find our way.” – Tricia Huffman
I’ve had quite a few stops and starts with my dream of becoming a published writer.
Besides the obstacles I’ve placed in my own way, life has taken me on detours and played some dirty tricks. Only recently have I realized that if I keep my eye on the prize and make the decision to pick myself up, dust myself off and keep moving towards my goal, I’ll get to where I want to be.
No, I’ll get to where I need to be.
It’s a waste of time thinking about where I could have been if I had gotten out of my own way a long time ago.
Maybe my outlook has improved because I’m revisiting my “live your life now” theme of my novella. Maybe it’s because my edits are going really well (I’ve put myself on a “schedule”). Or maybe it’s because I no longer have a fear of the boogeyman I thought was waiting to jump out at me from behind the scary self-editing process curtain ( I gifted myself a few online courses for Christmas and they demystified everything)…
Whatever the reason, I’m feeling totally light and positive about my editing progress and writing in general.
It’s like I’m attracting a bunch of good writing stuff – pieces of the puzzle I need to know are “finding” me instead of me chasing after them.
When I couldn’t figure out how to use YWriter and Scrivener after NaNoWriMo, Pressbooks fell into my lap when I was focused on something else. When I wanted to find one great resource about marketing, Seth Godin‘s name popped up in a podcast I was listening to. And when I wanted to find authors in my genre who know how to balance their blog, book, and newsletter content, I stumbled across three great ones (outside of my genre) within the same week.
The universe is helping me because I’m helping myself and not allowing myself to get discouraged anymore.
I’m seeing that if it weren’t for my “left turns”, I don’t think that I would have gotten to this point in my writing journey. Maybe I needed all the twists in the road to make me more optimistic than I have ever been been about my writing. And maybe I needed the discouraging naysayers in my past for me to fully understand that writing is all about me, my passion and my outlet.
I’m still writing.
I’m still here.
And writing is a part of my life that will never disappear.
It’s never too late to chase your dreams as long as you start today and keep moving forward, right?
What dream do you need to start chasing again? If you’d like to share, feel free to drop it in the comments.
M xoxo
Marquessa 
I didn’t know about Pressbooks. Wow! Thanks for mentioning it.
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I learned about it in one of my online writing classes! It’s just like using WordPress. All that time wasted trying to wrap my head around Scrivener 👀
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Beautiful and encouraging post, Marquessa! So happy to hear you’re in such a great place with your writing and editing. Not just great in general, but great for you, personally, and the goals you have set. Thanks for sharing, very inspiring! 😊
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Thanks. Recent circumstances have made me realize that life is too short to put dreams aside. It’s now or never!
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I’ve been thinking about this post all day. I too aspire to be a published author and recently treated myself to Scrivener, though I’m still trying to figure it out. Your post reminds me of a book I read called the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, it teaches you all about accepting opportunities as they come and not overdoing it trying to find an answer.
The best advice I learned when it comes to writing (so far) is “get it done first, get it right later”. I have a terrible habit of reading over what I’ve just written and editing it constantly that a story never gets done.
Can I ask what online courses you gifted yourself?
Great post! Xxx
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You took advantage of the 50% NaNoWriMo discount too?😀 Isn’t Julia the Morning Pages guru? I love that concept sooo much and it really works. I have actually been enjoying the editing of my novella. The trick seems to be dedicating daily consistent time to it so I can “be” in the same characters head.
I’ll post the courses shortly.😀
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Okay, so far I’ve taken “How To Write and Publish an Ebook”, “How to Create Addictive Content” and soon I’ll tackle “Wired for Story” from CreativeLive.com. They had discounted courses at Christmas and I am glad that I took advantage.
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I didn’t know there was a discount lol, I paid full price. And thank you xxx
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I really need to get back into my writing, but I’ve been spending my free time focusing on decluttering my life. It feels good to get rid of the dust and the things we don’t want/need. It also feels good to give those things to people who can use them!
But, editing. I need to edit!
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You’ve busy on the A to Z front so don’t feel badly. I know what you mean about the decluttering process. I stress-clean and this began long before the days of Marie Kondo – it feels soooo good, doesn’t it? But last year I took it a step further with “dostadning”, which has really put things into perspective for me. Sounds a bit morbid but I think twice before hanging onto to certain things.
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I’m kind of afraid to watch any of the Marie Kondo stuff. I’m afraid I’ll get sucked in!
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Lol. So much hype! Does no one remember Peter Walsh from back in the Oprah days? He popularized all of it so long ago.🙄
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“The universe is helping me because I’m helping myself and not allowing myself to get discouraged anymore.”
YES, Marquessa! Good for you. Thank you for sharing your writing and this message
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