GET BACK ON THE HORSE!

Every writer has given up on their writing at one time or another. We all go through those stages in our writing where nothing goes right and thoughts begin to creep into our minds. We start to question whether anyone would want to read what we have written or that maybe we aren't as skilled as we should be. We begin to compare ourselves to other writers that have been more successful than us. All of this leads us to the idea that maybe we just need to give up. I understand! I have been there! After getting so frustrated with plotting a YA novel I was writing, I took the eight spiral notebooks full of back-story, names, setting information, research, and plotting ideas, and threw them into a desk drawer to be forgotten forever! For weeks I was angry with myself for wasting all that time. I had spent hours researching and writing. This was time I spent away from my family and friends. I had actually written about 100 pages of the book, and now I thought it was all for nothing. I tried to put the book out of my mind but plotting ideas kept pooping into my thoughts. I finally realized that taking that time off was exactly what I needed to recenter my focus. Now I am almost near completion on the first book and have the other two entirely plotted out!

As writers we all have our falls and failures. We all get frustrated and want to give up, but this is just the time where we need to stop, step back, take a deep breath, then get back on the horse again!

No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill