Welcome to THE CHECK-IN, where you can get a sneak peek into my writing progress every week! Read on to find out what I’m working on and how things are progressing in my world.
Wha? Why do I have a picture of 17 year-old Robin up there instead of my usual chart of word counts?
Because I needed a reminder: that word counts don’t matter as much as my love of writing. 17 year-old Robin knew that. But 33 year-old Robin needed a reality check.
It’s been pretty well documented over the last few check ins that I’ve been struggling with bad writer’s block (if you want to call it that). That came to head in the past week with me having a full on meltdown over my writing work. I had to take a real hard look at what I had been spending my time on and what truly mattered to me and I came to the following conclusion: I had forgotten my why.
It’s easy to do when writing is your full time job. You get so wrapped up in the administrative side of things, in bookkeeping, and taxes, and planning events, and building your brand, that you forget what made you want to be a writer full time in the first place.
I spent a whole day last week doing nothing but writing. Not paying attention to word counts, or hitting a specific goal with a deadline in mind, or splitting my time between writing and working on other aspects of the job – just writing. And it felt incredible.
Don’t forget your why. I write because I love it. Because it makes me feel good to write. Because it’s how I understand and connect with the world around me. And I need to remember that when I don’t write? When I put other things first?
I end up unhappy.
17 year-old Robin got that. Now 33 year-year old Robin does too.
LESSON OF THE WEEK: DON’T LET THE LOVE GET LOST.