Should I Keep Writing or Give Up?

The road to publication can be long, and most writer’s go through periods where they feel like giving up. Maybe that’s where you are right now.

So, ask yourself: “Why do I write?” If you write just to be published, then maybe your love for writing isn’t as strong as you think.

What does writing mean to you?

Anne Frank wrote to find comfort and strength: “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” C.S. Lewis saw writing as a virtual way to create things: “You can make anything by writing.” Annie Proulx viewed words like art on a canvas: “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.” And Flannery O’Connor said, “I write to discover what I know.”

 

 “Why do I write?” It is a question writers often shuffle to the backs of their minds. But, on those days when you feel like giving up, that is when you need to refocus and think about the heart of your writing.

If publishing is your goal, you might want to set some smaller goals. Or you could decide to self-publish. Maybe God is whispering to you, “In My time, not yours.”

When you feel like giving up, having a “just for today” attitude helps.

• Just for today, I will write because I enjoy it.
• Just for today, I won’t worry about getting published.
• Just for today, I will celebrate the good words I have written so far.
• Just for today, I will focus on the positive.
• Just for today, I won’t let doubt, fear and rejection get the best of me.

Think about why you write. Examine your heart.

Do you really want to give up and stop writing? Maybe the answer is yes. Maybe, at least for now, you want to set aside writing and trying to get published. That’s okay! You haven’t failed. You’ve just decided to try something else, to pursue a new goal. It doesn’t have to be forever. You can decide to stop writing JUST FOR TODAY. Emily Dickinson said, “Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.” Keep the door to writing open, if even just ajar, and like the welcoming threshold of home it will always be there waiting for you.

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and inspiration for writers.

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*NOTE: Any ads appearing in this post were not put there by me nor do I endorse them. WordPress sometimes posts ads in exchange for hosting this free blog.

 

How a Potato Launched My Writing Career

[One of my favorite posts from 2015]

Everyone knows that potatoes have eyes—those little dimples on the skin that sprout potato plantlings—but did you know that potatoes have legs?

I remember a sunny Saturday morning when I was a kid watching my mom peel potatoes at the kitchen sink. As the sharp peeler scraped the potatoes bare, I saw Mom dig out tiny, green bumps.

“Are those warts?” I asked.

“No, they’re eyes,” said Mom.

“How come potatoes have eyes?”

“Because little potato plants grow from the eyes,” she said.

“You’re cutting off the babies? You’re killing them!”

Just then, I’d realized that a potato was a living thing, a mother with babies sprouting from her eyes! (How weird was that?) And my mom was ripping the skin off that mother potato, digging the babies out of her eyes, and throwing them away like garbage. Then she cut that mother potato into pieces and boiled her in water.

Oh, the agony of it all!
The inhumanity!

Was I being a bit dramatic?

Yes.

Did Mom suggest that I go outside and play?

She did.

But, instead I went to my room, and I wrote a story about that potato sprouting legs and running away from my evil mother. With my limited knowledge of how to put words onto paper I wrote:

POTATO LEGS

Mom try to kill her
She run away
Run Potato Legs run.
The end.        

And that’s how my writing career began. Many more stories followed “Potato Legs” and today I can’t think of any better activity than to write.

Every writer has that one eureka moment that sparks his or her need to write.

Sometimes it’s a what-if question that begs to be answered. (What if potatoes had legs?)

Other times, a tragedy needs to bleed out shedding its anger and grief. (Dave Pelzer’s “A Child Called It” comes to mind.)

The need to write might come from reading a poorly written book. (“I could write better than that!”)

Or from the desire to be heard. (Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”)

But most often, inspiration comes from encouragement. (“Hey! You should write a book!”)

How about you?
When was your eureka moment?
Why do you write?

_____________________________

Are you on Facebook? Check out my page where I post daily articles
and inspiration for writers.

_____________________________

*NOTE: Any ads appearing in this post were not put there by me nor do I endorse them. WordPress sometimes posts ads in exchange for hosting this free blog.

How A Potato Launched My Writing Career

Everyone knows that potatoes have eyes—those little dimples on the skin that sprout potato plantlings—but did you know that potatoes have legs?

I remember a sunny Saturday morning when I was a kid watching my mom peel potatoes at the kitchen sink. As the sharp peeler scraped the potatoes bare, I saw Mom dig out a tiny, green bump.

“Are those warts?” I asked.

“No, they’re eyes,” said Mom.

“How come potatoes have eyes?”

“Because little potato plants grow from their eyes,” she said.

“You’re cutting off the babies? You’re killing them!”

Just then, I’d realized that a potato was a living thing, a mother with babies sprouting from her eyes! (How weird was that?) And my mom was ripping the skin off that mother potato, digging the babies out of her eyes, and throwing them away like garbage. Then she cut that mother potato into pieces and boiled her in water.

Oh, the agony of it all!
The inhumanity!

Was I being a bit dramatic?

Yes.

Did Mom suggest that I go outside and play?

She did.

But, instead, I went to my room and I drew a story. I drew about that potato sprouting legs and running away from my evil mother. And with my limited knowledge of how to put words onto paper I wrote:

                                           POTATO LEGS

                                           Mom try to kil her
                                           She run away.
                                           Run, Potato Legs, run.
                                          The end.

And so began my writing career. Many more stories followed “Potato Legs” and today I can’t think of any better activity than to write.

Every writer has that one eureka moment that sparks the need to write.

Sometimes it’s a what-if question that begs to be answered. (What if potatoes had legs?)

Other times, a tragedy needs to bleed out shedding its anger and grief. (Dave Pelzer’s “A Child Called It” comes to mind.)

The need to write might come from reading a poorly written book. (“I could write better than that!”)

Or from the desire to be heard. (Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”)

But most often, inspiration comes from encouragement. (“Hey! You should write a book!”)

How about you?
When was your eureka moment?
Why do you write?

_____________________________

Are you on Facebook? Check out my page where I post daily articles and inspiration for writers. And while you’re there, I’d appreciate it if you’ll click on the “like” button near the top of the page. Thanks!

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*NOTE: Any ads appearing in this post were not put there by me nor do I endorse them. WordPress sometimes posts ads in exchange for hosting this free blog.