There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose.

The two most engaging powers of a good author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.

And I banged my head (for a few seconds at least) trying to figure out something uber-motivating and thought-provoking, something that would make that story burn inside you and the only way to put the fire out was to get the words out.

However my brain is bled dry from all the words I’ve pounded out, from edits, from too many late nights, so I’ll let somebody else do the inspiring. I found this quote over at Hearttouchers.com and damn, I’ve got to say, it did the trick for me.

“Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing.”-by Melinda Haynes

So with time starting to wind down us, keep at it. Write for yourself. Write for the sake of the story. Just write.

Write what you want to read. The person you know best in this world is you. Listen to yourself. If you are excited by what you are writing, you have a much better chance of putting that excitement over to a reader.

Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.

In truth, I’ve found that any day’s routine interruptions and distractions don’t much hurt a work in progress and may actually help it in some ways. It is, after all, the dab of grit that seeps into an oyster’s shell that makes the pearl, not pearl-making seminars with other oysters.
Stephen King - On Writing

King’s On Writing is probably my favorite writing book ever. It’s not so much a technical how to but a successful writer talking about writing in a very personal sense. I highly recommend it! He’s got a very no nonsense approach, which I appreciate. Because really, it’s all about just doing it.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up
Anne Lamott

Lamott’s Bird By Bird is another book on writing I love. Also a very personal, non technical approach by a writer talking about writing.

In truth, there’s a lot of joy to the process if you realize it’s about effort and heart and realizing life is PART of the process, even when it’s an impediment.

Any favorites from your library?

It’s tough to have writing motivation at this time of year. There’s so much going on with parties and gift wrapping and shopping…I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Remembering that writing is my dream job helps. It takes work, but it’s worth it. Eleanor Roosevelt said it best:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

That quote just makes me smile.

“You don’t find time to write. You make time. It’s my job.”
- Nora Roberts

It’s so true. Off to make time…

The best stories start with change… A stranger arrives in town… The first leaves of autumn fall… Notice in your reading of popular novels how often the moment of change is the moment the book begins… Think deeply about how to open your story with this crucial time of threatening change.

Mondays are tough for me. Even though I don’t work outside the home, I still have that, OMG, it’s Sunday night dread I used to have when I taught or when I was still in school. The whole, I screwed around all weekend and got nothing done and I have a test / have to make up a test to give / have to find clothes to wear, panic still sets in, even though Monday mornings for me aren’t much different than any other morning.

Except that I work weekends. Pretty much all weekend, since my husband’s home to watch the kid and the dog and I can really stay up late and get things done. So Mondays are almost a recovery day for me. Except, of course, when I’m under deadline, they can’t be.

So, while my body insists on looking for it’s version of the weekend, I’ve got to push on through the Monday morning blues.

The most pernicious part of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off until our deathbed.

Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There was never a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on Resistance.

This second, we can sit down and do our work.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

It’s time to go sit down and do my work. Join me!