Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

 

Whew! Are you like me? When Christmas and New Years are behind me, I catch my breath, mentally turn, and step into a different chunk of the year.

 

The holidays hold many distractions—fun distractions, usually—but when we take down our old calendars and replace them with new calendars, it’s time to refocus. We look ahead and make plans: We remind ourselves we’ll have a couple of months of fewer hours of daylight, we’ll have cold weather and maybe snowy roads, and we’ll focus on indoor activities.

 

And that brings me to this indoor activity: How are you doing on writing your memoir?

 

Is this the year you’ll finalize your manuscript?

 

Is this the year you’ll pin down your memoir’s title?

 

Is this the year your book will get its cover design?

 

Is this the year you’ll publish your memoir?

 

Is this the year people—even strangers—will buy and read your memoir?

 

Is this the year your story will change lives?

 

If you’re like many of us, over the holidays you took a break from writing to spend time with family and friends, and now you need motivation to continue authoring your story.

 

Are you struggling to find that motivation—that incentive, that enthusiasm? If so, you’re not alone.

 

At such times, it’s easy to get distracted—because, for many, it’s hard to get back into the writing process. It’s hard to focus.

 

So we fidget. We check Instagram. Send a couple of text messages. Grab a snack, go shopping—all in an attempt to get back into our groove.

 

You’ll probably identify with this Mignon McLaughlin quote:

 

“There’s only one person

who needs a glass of water oftener than

a small child tucked in for the night,

and that’s a writer sitting down to write.”

 

Mick Silva at Higher Purpose Writers posted on Facebook a couple of years ago: “. . . Everyone says [persistence] is the most important part of writing. I’ve said it to all my clients: Most people don’t finish. Even if they finish a draft, they don’t follow through with the rewriting, or the rereading and editing. They just stop. . . .”

 

Refuse to let that happen to you!

 

Mick also offers this encouragement: “Consistent baby steps are important for when passion wanes.”

 

So, persist! Remember: Even baby steps result in progress.

 

And here’s a Nora Roberts quote to inspire you to keep working:

 

“. . . You have to be driven. You have to have the three D’s: drive, discipline, and desire. If you’re missing any one of those three, you can have all the talent in the world, but it’s going to be really hard to get anything done,” Nora says.

 

Here’s my advice: Pat yourself on the back for how far you’ve already come.

 

Since the clock is ticking, be intentional: Keep penning your first draft. Don’t judge your writing at this point. Sure, you’ll have to fix it, but you’ll tackle that later. For now, just write!

 

Focus. Resolve to complete your book.

 Persevere.

 Pray.

 

Writing and publishing your memoir is not a hobby—it’s a ministry.

 

You can do this! You can!