Staying Positive

  I’m excited that the Storymakers conference is just around the corner. Conferences always pump me up and give me weeks of great tips to try out and blog about. If you’re going, I hope to meet you. If not, come on back here for some highlights I’ll be sharing.

  This week I’ve been pondering on how important it is to stay positive about one’s writing. If writing is a passion in your life, it’s worth the bumpy road to keep at it. Do what you need to to look forward with hope. Believe in yourself! This might mean going to a conference. It might be something as simple as latching on to a compliment from a reader or an exciting new idea for your WIP. Take whatever boosts you to do your best and run with it.

  The past two months have been extra busy for me. My substitute teaching job picked up two long term positions. Couple that with problems preventing my critique group from submitting or meeting and I found little time/motivation for writing. Desire was still there, but I felt something like a ‘middle sag’ to my story. I needed a boost.

  Several things helped me overcome this and plow through it. But it wasn’t without a struggle. A respected fellow-writer agreed with me on some of the problems concerning my WIP. These are fixable, I had to tell myself. I still love my story. Staying positive was crucial. Then another author gave me some encouragement that minimized these problem areas. I realized that I shouldn’t let the first person block my goals. They didn’t have all the information needed to make this judgment anyway.

  Finally, I gave a first-time reader a scene from this ‘sagging middle’ to critique and he said he was drawn into the story and almost forgot to be looking out for things. Woot! Just what I needed to zing me into further writing. I’m gonna remember this one until the next time I need a boost. With this upcoming conference, I’m sure that the next time won’t be very soon.