How to be present with your writing journey
We so often look ahead, waiting for our happiness to begin. If I just had …. fill in the blank …. then I could be happy. These are some of the things I’ve thought along my writing journey: “If I just had a literary agent, I’d be happy.” “If I had a publisher, I’d be happy.” “If I had a book on the shelf in a bookstore …” Well, you get it. Maybe for you it’s things like more book sales, a bigger following or better reviews. We have big dreams and big goals, that’s what keeps us going, but when we pin our happiness on future outcomes we have little control over, it can leave us feeling crushed when things don’t happen the way we expected.
My brain is always thinking about the future. I’m always thinking about what I need to do next to accomplish my goals and make my dreams come true. But, I’ve been so stuck on the productivity hamster wheel, that thinking like this has gotten me completely overwhelmed. How will I get it all done? How will I be successful if I can’t get it all done? But God has a better way. He has shown me how much I’ve been missing in the present when I constantly think about the future. When it comes to my writing journey, here are a few ways I’ve learned to stay in the present, feel less overwhelmed and really appreciate what is available to me right now.
1. Look at the past
I know, it doesn’t quite make sense to focus on the present by looking at the past, but when I think about my writing journey, I can see all the strides I’ve made compared to where I was a year ago, two years ago or five years ago. Looking at things this way has shown me that, even if no one sees it or recognizes it, I am making progress. No one needs to validate your progress. Truly. You can see it yourself and that’s a good feeling. The writing journey is not flat, it’s a steep mountain, and you’re going up, even if you can’t yet see the top. If it helps, list some of the things you’ve improved in your writing skills over the past year.
2. Focus on what’s possible - forget the should-bes
If you’re anything like me, then your head might be full of should-bes. I often think about all the things I should be doing and I carry a lot of guilt. Writing is one of the things that seems to be a big should-be. When I’m not writing, I feel so guilty. But, when I started planning out my days and blocking time for each activity, I realized my brain was overestimating what was possible with the time I had. I was feeling guilty for things that weren’t even possible to fit in to my schedule. I wasn’t being very compassionate or fair to myself. So, what helped? Now I focus only on the tasks I can reasonably do. And every time I catch myself thinking a should-be thought, I let it go. If I don’t have time to write today, then I will schedule time tomorrow or on the weekend. It’s okay if other things come first. They should and they do. Writing out my tasks and the time it takes to do them gave me a realistic view of what’s possible in a day. It allowed me to let go of the unreasonable pressure I was putting on myself.
3. Let go of your sense of urgency
I’ve been trying to understand why we as writers so often feel like we need to make this whole writing thing happen quickly or by a certain age. This kind of thinking comes with a whole lot of guilt and shame because we think we’ve failed when actually we just haven’t accomplished our goals yet. With writing, there’s a steep learning curve and an industry that moves at a turtle’s pace. Add in the fact that we’ve all got to have full-time jobs to support ourselves and many of us have family responsibilities, it’s really not possible to do this quickly. I think those who experience success quickly or at a young age have had a little luck. I’m glad for them, but that is not the journey for most writers. The world is just not set up for writing and publishing to happen fast. There will be seasons where your life can accomodate writing and where it just can’t. Why in the world would we think that not doing something quickly equals failure?
4. Make a gratitude list for your writing
When I’m too focused on the future, I forget how much there is to be grateful for today. Beginning my writing session with a list of things I’m grateful for really helps. I’m grateful for the skills I’ve learned, for the community I get to share this journey with, for the support I have, for the time I have to write and that God designed me to be a creative person. All of these gifts are so easy to forget, but when I think about them - wow - I feel so lucky! When I start a writing session with a list of things I’m grateful for, it really sets me up for a joyful writing rather than a writing session that is driven by fear, guilt or shame.
