Enjoy What You Do!

     I have found myself getting well and truly bogged down with my writing journey recently which has led to the enjoyment evaporating away.  First of all I was in excruciating pain for quite a while and just as I seemed to be improving, my daughter Phoenix was unable to walk for over a week.  Obviously we are both under various specialists, taking medication and trying to keep going.  Athough my health and the health of family and friends comes first, this has not been my only issue recently.

     I was taking part in a marketing challenge, where the aim was to build an e-mail list in a month.  I was actually getting myself quite stressed out about it, so decided to take a step back.  My time was being taken up by trying to work out different techy issues, which is not my forte and I was finding myself not writing as much as I would have like and I was not spending enough time on my next novel, Survival At Any Cost.  I have put together a newsletter but I will not be publishing it until I feel more at ease with all the committments I have.  To be honest I have felt like I’ve been running around like a headless chicken and not getting anywhere.

     I decided to take take a little bit of time out and limit my time spent on social media.  My phone doesn’t stop binging with messages and alerts and how I have restrained myself and not thrown it in the pool, I’ll never know.  I not only wanted, but I also needed, to take some time out so that I could think about my goals again.

     I started writing because I enjoy it and I will not allow that enjoyment to be taken away because of deadlines and marketing.  Of course deadlines and marketing play a role in my writing journey, but I want to focus on my writing and improving the craft that I love.  Having reassessed my goals, I am feeling happier about continuing my writing journey.

     Survival At Any Cost was ready to go to its beta readers but, after reading it through again, I thought about changing it, again.  Starting tomorrow and concluding over the weekend, I am going to read it once more and then decide if the changes I am contemplating will actually enhance the book.  If they do, my next step will be to implement the changes, which I’m really not sure how long it will take.  What I do know is, if I decide to make these dramatic changes, Survival At Any Cost, will be even better than it already is and have a good chance of becoming a bestseller.

     Even my Goodreads reading challenge has been knocked slightly sideways recently.  I have managed to read ‘Relative Terror’ by R.E. Sargent and ‘Watching You’ by Lynda Renham, both of which were very enjoyable.  One of the benefits of this reading challenge is that I am making a point of reading new authors to me.  I am a little behind on my book reviews but hopefully I will be up-to-date by the end of the weekend.  A writer needs to write a lot and read a lot if they have any chance of being successful.  All writers, including me, need reviews.  Reviews not only help potential readers make a choice about which book to read but they also they help writers in this digital world of marketing.  I have never read anything by Dean Koontz before so I am currently reading his book, ‘The House of Thunder.’  I have always loved reading but now when I read, I read as a writer.  I am more aware of different styles and I learn a lot from authors that are more experienced than me.

    If you currently have a ridiculous work schedule, do what I have done and get your life harmonious again.  Overburdening yourself results in many negative outcomes including, a decrease in productivity, poor health, stress and depression.  Make a list of what needs to be done and focus on the most important.  Of course there are some things in life that may not be enjoyable but you should enjoy the majority of what you do.  Eliminating as much stress from your daily routine as possible will lead to a happier and more fulfilling life.  If you make a few changes to your schedule, you will soon be back on track, just like me.  Life is not a dress rehearsal so you should enjoy what you do. Whatever your passion in life is, protect it and let it shine.

 

Until next time – keep chasing your dreams!

NICOLE

 

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