It’s a wrap

Day 30 #iWriteDaily

So here ends the 30-day writing challenge. Officially anyway.

Boy, have I learned a bunch.

Day 29’s prompt had the #iWriteDaily community think about what habits, thoughts, mindsets and actions serve/detract from/are neutral to our writing habits. I brainstormed.

Did I ever.

I realized (again) that scheduling, planning and self-imposing deadlines (when there isn’t an external source) are absolutely crucial to my success as a writer. Positive feedback helps, too.

As a matter of fact, this is vital to success in anything I tackle. (Kinda funny, coming from a former diehard Franklin Planner user.)

Negative self-talk, procrastination and perfectionism get in the way of my writing habits. That fear of not-enoughness is a huge detractor.

And neutral. The environment in which I write seems to be the least important to bolstering my writing habits. Coaches have recommended: Have a dedicated writing space, light a candle, put on music … all messages to the brain that it’s time to write. None of that matters to me. I can just as easily write in a newsroom, my office, the living room, my bed, the coffee shop, in prison. Or not write. Where I am when I write doesn’t seem to matter. That’s a lucky thing, I guess.

It’s relatively simple. That’s the main gain from this challenge. But putting it down in black and white reinforces what I know but forget, know but don’t do enough of, know but push away when the fear gremlin takes over and insists, “Don’t bother. You’ll never be a writer. You aren’t good enough. There’s too much competition out there, real writers who are way better than you are. Give it up.”

STFU, Fear Gremlin.

I am a writer. I write.

I am a writer. I have a voice that is uniquely mine.

I am a writer. I have much to say.

I need to say it. And the world needs to hear it.

I am a writer.

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