12 Pitfalls to Avoid so you can fulfill your writing dreams and get out of your own way

Are you ready to fulfill your writing dreams? I’m not a best-selling author. But, I am an empty-nester who finally started living her dream of writing books and blog articles.

Yes, I’ve been writing blog pieces here on this blog over a decade. But, I was always writing to the wrong person. I came to a realization a couple of years ago. If I can’t write for myself and to myself, then I grow bored.

If you poke around here on the blog long enough, you’ll see I write across several topics. That’s because I write what I need to get out of my heart and head.. I write to myself.

Here are tips I’ve learned to get out of my own way, write what I love, and have fun doing it.

Decide

I’m a notorious bunny chaser and shiny object grabber. If I don’t have at least a dozen different projects in various stages, then I would think something was wrong with me. But, when it’s time to get serious and get something finished, I set all other writing projects aside. I decide to work on one thing for at least 30-days. It’s amazing what I can accomplish when I focus!

Quit Comparing Yourself

You be you. Be yourself. You write like you. Yes, you may read others to research and learn. But don’t compare yourself. Just don’t. Comparison leads to self-doubt. Self-doubt leads to fear. Fear leads to dreams undone. You be you.

Fire your bossy internal editor.

First you write dirty, then you edit messy. No, not bad words. Your first draft is messy. Just get the words out of your head. There may be gaps in the story line (if you could only see my first draft for the book I’m writing now)! The important thing is to get the words out of your head and onto paper. My goodness, these drafts are drafts. Just get it out. Go back and fill in the blanks during the first pass of self-editing. Drafts aren’t perfect.

Know your why.

Why do you write? What’s in it for you? What’s in it for the world? Why does your audience need your words? Knowing your why will help you over hurdles that are sure to trip you up. Get passionate about the reason you write.

Slow and steady

I’ve attended virtual writing retreats, where we wrote passionately for two days. I’ve created my personal writing retreat and worked with an intense frenzy on one project for a week. Passion and frenzy are seldom a sustainable writing routine. Slow and steady wins the writing race. Carving out a set time to write daily reaches writing goals, and is much more sustainable.

It’s the draft —

You don’t have to love every word. You can edit and change.. later. Just get the draft done.

Be kind to yourself.

Yes, you ARE a writer. The minute you wrote the first word, you became a writer.

Plan and prioritize.

There are other areas of our life where we guard our time. Maybe it’s the time you spend exercising, or your quiet soak in the tub every night. Plan what you’ll write and when you will write it. Guard your writing time with a fierce passion, just like you guard the secret chocolate stash..

Bonus Tips:

Know Your Who

If you write to everyone, you write to no one. I’m a firm believer in knowing exactly who your audience is. Get a visual picture of who they are and know their likes and dislikes. What lights their fire and gets them excited? What do they enjoy doing? These questions, and more, create the avatar or persona of the person you’re writing to. I find a picture or image of my pretend person I’m writing to.

Write something every day

Whether it’s your current writing project, a fun writing prompt, or writing in yourjournal. Write something, anything, every day! It really does create a snowball effect of writing success.

If you can keep these tips in your top of mind, I know you’ll reach your writing dreams!

Get a copy of the12 Pitfalls to Avoid so you can fulfill your writing dreams and get out of your own way!