“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.”
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Before jumping into any good resolution for 2012, I am looking back at what I learned (writing-related) in 2011. Here are my top 5 lessons of the year.
1. Keep trying
This WIP is a long time coming. It´s the first one I am powering through. I have about 5 other drafts from past years which never saw the magical words “The End”. However, I learned to come back, to not give up. Some days might be better than others but I keep the goal in mind.
2. Learn and research
Writing is a learning process. I am very thankful for all the great posts, advice, websites I have found which remind me it is ok to not know everything. It is a very humbling experience. I try to write better than myself and the competition is tough 🙂
3. Take a break
A breather. A walk outside. An evening without the laptop. We all need to recharge and we cannot beat ourselves if one time, we do not reach the number of words we wanted so badly. Why? what is good for us is mainly good for our story.
4. Read and keep reading
I am lucky that during my commute I can devour books. Reading helps me to write and it also reminds me on how much I would like to have people reading my story. Plus, I get to escape in other worlds, walk in other people’s shoes if only for a few hours. It’s just wonderful!
5. Connect
Roaming forums (not anymore a lurker but a proud member of several writing communities), websites, answering questions, starting this blog and getting on Twitter helped me a great deal. It taught me that support may come from unknown places and that many others go through the same loops as I do. Thanks again to all!
What lessons did 2011 teach you?
Elodie Nowodazkij 
I guess 2011 was a lesson in keeping at it. I finished another book, got it ready for querying and garnered some interest. Just keep working, writing, revising, blogging, reading and doing everything i can to someday achieve my goals.
Wishing you the best of luck! We all seem to have a gift to hold on to our goals 🙂
These are good lessons, cg, and certainly ones I was reminded of this year. Since I started my querying journey a few months ago, I’ve learned that you can’t take rejection personally, and it’s easier to deal with when you have a WIP to take up your energy and attention.
Wow, congrats on already being at the querying stage Colin, and good luck with both querying and working on your WIP 🙂
Good learnings! I’m with ya. We can never give up.
And we must keep reading. There is so much awesome inspiration out there.
Thanks Kelley! There is definitely a lot of inspiration out there, I am reading much more these days and I enjoy it!
2011 taught me that dreams that are worth having do not come the moment you start the journey. I hope that this time next year I can say I’ve learned endurance and am still on the path to reach my dream.
Great post!
Thanks 🙂
Endurance and patience are key I think in becoming a published author 🙂
2011 taught that I can reach my goals in writing and the trick is to just be patient and keep going, however slow you may think you’re going. It’ll come eventually but you have to be willing to give yourself that push into working hard. You can only discipline yourself, others can’t do that for you.
Patience is key in this endeavor just like taking responsibility. You´re so right when you say that others cannot do it for us!
🙂