5 Things I Learned From Writing

1. Write down your goals.

If you don’t have a firm idea of where you’re going, you’ll get somewhere, but not necessarily where you want to be. That wandering is fun and should be tried out because life isn’t all about the destination. However, how will you know when you’ve accomplished something wonderful if you haven’t figured out what you want to accomplish in the first place? Write down your goals and be sure to allow yourself small victories along the way.

2. Celebrate the small stuff.

What’s the point of making goals if you aren’t going to celebrate when you reach a milestone? Take a victory lap, do a touchdown dance, pop a bottle of bubbly, something. Honor your accomplishments, even small ones.

3. Don’t be afraid to take risks.

You might not think that anyone will ever want to read your robot melodrama, but if the story is burning inside you, write that puppy down. Sometimes characters take you in a crazy, scary, weird direction and sometimes you have to follow them. It’s not all about the path. Sometimes it’s about veering to the left and going into the woods without a compass. Some of my best writing comes from being willing to take a risk with the theme, with the characters, with the situation.

4. Writing can become a habit.

I’ve had writer’s block before. It was awful. Then I found the Magic Spreadsheet and it taught me that writing can become a habit. Habits aren’t always bad. And when writing becomes a habit, writer’s block goes away.

5. No one will like everything I do and that’s okay.

We all want people to like us, right? And when someone doesn’t, when they take a dislike to us, we can feel banged up. ‘Why don’t they like me?’ we wail, beating ourselves up for not being what that other person wanted. For every bestseller, there are one star reviews. For every acclaimed book, there are one star reviews. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE YOU OR WHAT YOU WRITE. It’s rather freeing if you can accept this. Once you realize there will always be someone who doesn’t like you, it’s easier to not take it personally.