Dear Me (or You Who is Frustrated Beyond Belief),

Whoever said this whole writing thing is a piece of cake, lied. I mean flat-out, bold-faced LIED! Don’t get me wrong, some days the words do spew out, one after the other, and I find myself thinking, this is easy, I should’ve done this years ago.

But today is not one of those days.

Today is a rough day. A day where I find myself staring at the screen for hours trying to finish one paragraph. One. Teeny. Tiny. Little. Paragraph.

These are the days I question myself. Why did I give up a comfortable, decent paying job for this? For frustrating, pulling out my hair days. For wondering whether or not I’m doing the right thing days, or for will this first draft ever be finished days.

But then I have one of those good days.

A day where the words flow and I’m excited to see what happens next for the characters I’ve become so involved with and grown to love. A day where my creativity is renewed by a meet up with my writing tribe and we’ve vented mutual frustrations, shared ideas and suggestions, and encouraged each other to keep going.

A day where I remember how much I love to write and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to do so.

And while those days may not come as often as I like, I need to remember to keep moving forward, but every once and a while, it’s okay to take a peek back to see how far I’ve come.

As with everything in life, things may not always go according to plan. Sure, there’s bound to be some failures, maybe even a bunch of failures, but there will never be a success without an attempt. So whether it be writing, finishing school, parenting, climbing your way up the career ladder, or finding your place in the world, stumble over those bumps and keep attempting!

Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Love,

Teresa 🙂