What Writers Regret

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


By the time the mag celebrates its 3rd anniversary in July, we will have had the pleasure of featuring over 600 authors in Southern Writers Magazine.  All have published at least one book, some have as many as 50 or more (I think those authors deserve to have a statue made of them).  If you add up all the books by all these authors—and of course, 600 is just the tip of the literary iceberg—we're talking thousands of books by these excellent wordsmiths.

One question we often ask during interviews is, If you could change anything in your writing career, what would it be? And this is the answer we've received hundreds of times:

I wish I'd started writing sooner.

This regret is echoed by writers of all ages, not just the ones who followed their inner Dickens after retirement.  The thrill of having publishing dreams come true at 25 is no less exciting than at 75.  And the bottom line is, no matter when they do it, they regret not having started sooner.

What does this oft-repeated sentiment tell us?  That authors who have experienced the joys and the struggles of committing to their craft have discovered it to be a rewarding enough undertaking that they only wish they could have had more of it in their lives.

How much greater regret will be felt by the many would-be writers who always knew they had a book in them, but never made the time to write the first chapter?

When you're writing, you're 100% more productive than every other writer who isn't writing.  I don't know who said that first, but I'll give credit to Annie K., from whom I heard it first.  (I encourage you to visit Annie K.'s awesomely motivating blog post on the 50 Reasons You Should Be Writing Right Now.)

For any of us who feel the urge to write, it's an essential part of our nature and something that will never be satisfied until it's fulfilled.  Whether we put our everything into it now, or put it off for some distant future, the day will come when we say, "I wish I'd started writing sooner."

One thing's for certain. You will never say, "I wish I hadn't become a writer."

Procrastination Can Be an Author's Friend

by Jonna Turner

Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. No, you read that correctly. For much of my writing life those have been words I have lived by.

Lots of my days begin with good intentions. Today I’ll vacuum, dust, fertilize the plants, spend thirty minutes on the elliptical, do laundry, and then spend several hours writing. That doesn’t work for me. If writing takes last place in my day, it’s not ‘gonna’ happen. Putting off the domestic tasks until I’ve finished writing for the day works best for me. The dust will still be there; it’s not going anywhere.

A good writing day for me is to have breakfast, straighten the kitchen, check e-mail and Facebook, and then start writing. If the writing flows, the next time I look at the clock, three to four hours have passed. If it’s not a good writing day, the least little interruption, such as a red-tailed hawk flying through the pines on the back property, can stop my writing in its tracks. When this happens, I find something else to do that is connected with writing.

That something else can be research to make my writing more authentic. For Shiloh and the Cave, I spent a lot of time talking with Colorado State University students about the layout of the campus, what the main floors and dorm rooms look like, and who monitors non-residents who enter the buildings.

For Finding Alan, I sought out interesting locations in Seattle. An author friend, J.D. Hylton, told me about the historical Smith Tower. I called the docent there and learned several interesting facts about the building that I could use, sparingly of course, to add believability to the story, such as the glass blocks in the sidewalk in front of the building. Below these glass blocks are an underground city. I loved learning this and touched on it in the story. And, I used the building to house the office of the attorney in the story.

Or, if I don’t need to do more research, I work on marketing or just plain connecting with readers or friends. Friends are a writer’s most important asset. If people like and respect you and your heart, they are more likely to buy your books and pass the word along to their friends. 


So won't you join me and put of until tomorrow that which you shouldn't do today?
_________________________________________

Jonna Turner is an award-winning author of five mystery-suspense novels, short stories, motivational radio scripts for Art Linkletter’s The ART of Positive Thinking, and feature articles for newspapers and magazines. A former Memphian, she lives on the northern edge of the Palmer Divide in Colorado with her husband, a retired FedEx pilot. 

We'd love for you to connect with Jonna online on Facebook, at her website, on Amazon and on LinkedIn.

Procrastination

by Teri Johnson

"Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.” - Napoleon Hill

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” - Edward Young

“Procrastination usually results in sorrowful regret. Today's duties put off until tomorrow give us a double burden to bear; the best way is to do them in their proper time.” - Ida Scott Taylor

 “Procrastination is opportunity's natural assassin.” - Victor Kiam

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.” - Wayne Gretzky

Really – there is nothing bright, energizing, positive, or exciting about this word.

…PROCRASTINATION

Yet we allow it to hang around. Well, I do – maybe I shouldn’t include you, unless you are with me, are you?

As writers, this character trait becomes a stumbling block if we allow it to manifest itself.  I came face to face with it while I was writing my book, Overcoming the Nevers. It was so glaring I needed to write about it in chapter seven, Transformation:

“One of my defects of character is procrastination. This is no secret; I’ve wrestled with it for a very long time.  …I put things off.  I find it ironic that “procrastinate” is a verb, which indicates it’s an action word, when the word itself means to defer action.

Unfortunately this trait can result in missed opportunities and emotional weariness. Williams James says, “Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.” When we procrastinate, we are not taking the appropriate action that we know we need to take. We carry thoughts about what we should be doing in our minds. Our thoughts turn into lies and mis-beliefs, and we start to feel that we aren’t good enough, or that we have failed, which is self-sabotaging. We carry the stress of the unfinished business on our shoulders, which drains us and holds us back.

How do I know this? Because I’m experiencing the effects of procrastination through the writing of this book.  …There have been many days I’ve wanted to stop and not move forward. I’ve pushed back deadlines, rationalized excuses and wasted many good writing days by allowing every distraction to creep into my life.

The tapes that continuously play in my mind are I am not a writer, I’m in over my head, this is too hard for me. What I would rather do are the things that I know how to do, like coach a client through a life obstacle.  …I would rather do things that are sociable and fun, like visit with a friend over coffee or go to a movie. The last thing I want to be doing is something in which I don’t feel confident – something that is extremely hard work – something that is refining me to the core and forcing me to dig deep into the depths of my soul.

Fear is the root of my procrastination. Fear of failure. Fear of what others might think. Fear of judgment. Fear of success; what happens if this really takes off, what does that look like? In all the significant areas of my life where I’ve allowed procrastination to set in, I can see that the core of not taking action is fear.”

What is it for you? What allows procrastination to creep into your life?

When we identify the root, mine was F.E.A.R {False Evidence Appearing Real} – we can take action appropriately to change.  We can invite accountability into our lives to help us move past, move forward, to overcome!
_____________________________________________

Teri is a writer, speaker, and sought-after personal growth expert. Her unique strategies have helped transform the lives of her clients, enlightening, guiding and motivating them to achieve even their most deeply desired goals.

She is the President and Founder of Keeping It Personal, a company that specializes in self-development training and discovering your life purpose. She facilitates her clients, who range from executives to hard working stay-at-home moms, through, “The Ultimate Journey”, a course focused on unpacking self deception, to freedom from old destructive behaviors, discover and develop their truth, goals, and most importantly, accomplish them. Through her mentoring and life coaching, Teri’s clients have found personal growth and joy allowing them to improve relationships, decrease stress and anxiety, and move forward in their business and personal life, and more.

Her book, Overcoming The Nevers, is now available! You can learn more about Teri and her book by visiting her personal website. Be inspired daily by signing up to receive The Daily KIP…a little nugget of truth she writes at Keeping it Personal.

Teri is social! Meet her on Facebook here and here or on  Twitter