First, IWSG...
What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG)?
 |
| Click the pic to join IWSG! |
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer.
Following The Leader
A to Z is in full swing, and there's no better time to marvel at the productivity and creativity of the writing/blogging community. Hop around to just a handful of participating blogs, and I'll guarantee you'll see at least one idea, post, etc. that makes you shake your head and say, "How do they do this? For 30 freaking days in a row, no less!"
Then you see their following numbers shoot up a dozen people every day, while you've been stuck in the 430s for like two years. Then you see that their publishing a book this month ON TOP OF A to Z... and they're also getting married... and participating in three decathlons... and sewing their kid's prom dress while switching the entire family (there's 10 of them, by the way... with infant triplets) over to all organic food produced from the hydro-garden they grow in their attic... and--WELL, I think you're getting the picture by now.
These are folks we admire and look up to for good reason. They model the reality that writers are living, breathing folks who have to write when they have time, and nurture their author careers the best they can. Those people have gotten me through some tough times, because I've thought: If they can do all that, I can surely manage the little bit of 'stuff' on my plate.
But it can also make me feel like a total slug.
It can get very difficult to tread your own course in our 'little' online community. There are people modeling the success we crave and work for around every corner--almost like there's a secret elevator to the top of the mountain we're all trying to climb, and you're the only fool trying to do it the hard way (i.e., one rock at a time). There are people seemingly doing the exact same thing we're trying to do, but they do it ten-times faster with ten-times the results.
That's when I have to pump the breaks.
This isn't follow the leader. We have to live OUR life. Get up every morning, focus on what WE can do, do the hell out of it, and run it back again the next day. This is a cover of one of my favorite 'get your head straight' songs, Live Your Life by T.I. featuring Rihanna:
How great are those kids, btw? :)
It's fantastic having blog and writing heroes. I've definitely got several. (Hey Arlee & Alex! :) But at some point, we have to go our own way and be comfortable doing it.
~EJW~
Happy book birthday to Carol Kilgore & Solomon's Compass!
The lure of buried treasure. A sexy former SEAL who makes her crazy. Could USCG CDR Taylor Campbell want more? Don’t ask. A story of love, loyalty, and the value of keeping a promise, SOLOMON’S COMPASS is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
 |
Posts
