Restart Your Writing by Rochelle Melander
Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?
—L.M. Montgomery
How are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions? Have you had difficulty keeping all of them? Or, like me, did you simply postpone making them? Fear not. I have a plan for those of us who’ve either bumbled our new beginning or forgot to push restart.
My plan comes from the wisdom of 92-year-old producer Norman Lear: “There are two small words that are important and mostly overlooked: over and next. When something is over, it is over. Everything is about what comes next.” (TV Guide, October 27-Nov. 9, p. 7)
Got that?
Stop dwelling on anything you’ve done or failed to do last year, this year, or any other year: it’s OVER.
Now focus on what you want to do NEXT!
Instead of worrying over what you haven’t written yet, write now. Jot down a few words about the present moment, the story of your life, or wisdom to help another.
In the words of Samuel Beckett:
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Thank you so much for this, Rochelle!
Your wise words hit home for me, as they usually do, but this time more forcefully than usual.
Yesterday I came back to my book … but this time instead of discouraging myself before I even started (as usual) I gave myself a deadline, gathered all my scattered printed out material, and persevered! For eight hours I organized and read and discarded and/or tore up paper after paper. I went to bed exhausted but when I awoke this morning, I realized I had slept like a baby. That hasn’t happened in a very long time.
This “next” time is my best time and I am determined to finish my non-fiction book by the time my birthday arrives at the end of July. Procrastination is Over and Writing is Next!
Thanks again,
Raymonde
Raymonde, I’m so delighted to hear this! Yeah for you! -Rochelle
I really needed to hear your advice: “Stop dwelling on anything you’ve done or failed to do last year, this year, or any other year: it’s OVER.
Now focus on what you want to do NEXT!”
I have a non-fiction book to finish writing this year, and I’ve been caught up in feeling bad about how I didn’t finish writing it last year. I need to think about my next step, and get going.
Just bought your book Write-A-Thon and will also be checking out your Write-A-Thon group.
Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear that this helped you! Best wishes with writing your book this year! -Rochelle