Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Insecure Writer's Support Group: OMG.. is it REALLY 2012?

So... uh... did anyone notice that 2012 just sort of snuck up on us? No? Is it just me?

Happy New Year guys!!!!

I think I may have officially won the award for worst blogger these last couple of months. I'm currently in the middle of a fantastic cold that I managed to get RIGHT before New Year's Eve... so it sort of delayed my return even more... *hides face in shame*

I was looking at last year's resolutions (naturally), and I realized I'd come down with the flu during the holiday season in 2010 as well. Weird, huh?

I don't think I'm going to make a list of resolutions this year... I'm terrible with them... but I will make just one though, and it's in honor of our monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group (which by the way, is an awesome way to start the new year and return to blogging - thanks Alex!).

And here it is:

BELIEVE

That's it.

(And it's so serendipitous how this theme seems to be EVERYWHERE lately ;) )

Sometimes this is the hardest part of being a writer... believing in yourself.

I know it's something I've struggled with tremendously in the past year. Some days have seemed beyond bleak, and I wondered what I was trying to prove. Why I continued to tread down this path when most of the time it seemed like I was getting nowhere.

It's not true. Every single process, every erased word, every daunting scene, every rewrite, every mistake made, every lesson learned... they move us forward.

So deep down, I know why I don't give up... even if I forget sometimes.

I love it.

Plain and simple. It makes me feel peace in this world of chaos. All the tiny pieces of my heart and soul that are tugged in a million different directions throughout each and every day all slip back into place when I look at that page.

I feel alive.

It reminds me of who I am, of my hopes and dreams... without writing, a piece of me is missing. A part of me goes dark and hollow and I never realize what is bothering me until I pick up that pen again.

And... because I DO believe in it... more than I have anything else.

I've been working on this book for 3 years now. 3 YEARS. I know the exact day I started it. It's been through several overhauls, and there are probably several more to come.

But I believe in it. I will keep believing in it. And I believe in each and every one of you. And I will keep believing in each and every one of you.

So there we have it... my resolution for this year... I'm going to believe in me and you, and all that we can do.

I wish everyone an awesome 2012... filled with oodles of agent requests and book deals and author signings. And here's hoping... no BELIEVing... that all of our dreams come true.

Because they will, guys. They will :)

What are your resolutions for the new year?

48 comments:

Cassie said...

This post was meant for me to read tonight. I've been struggling with getting back on the bandwagon and working toward my writing goals. I'm actually embarrassed that I let them slip away like I have. But the truth is, that I, too, feel most alive and free when I'm writing. I must keep on.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Cassie

Miranda Hardy said...

I like it. I believe in you too.

Cherie Reich said...

I love this post. Believing is so important. Must remember to believe. :)

Rachna Chhabria said...

Happy New Year to you. I just love this post. Its telepathic; you are echoing my thoughts. I have decided that this year come what may, I will believe in myself, my stories and trust them.

Colene Murphy said...

Love it! Believing in yourself is so hard, but it's nice when other people believe in you too! Which I do! Happy New Year, and I hope there are good things in store for you this year that don't include the flu. ;)

Cassie Mae said...

Lol, I read Cassie's comment and for a second I thought it was me before the picture loaded. I was like, 'I don't remember saying that,' lol.

But I do echo it. And now I have Josh Groban's song in my head. :)

Claudia Zurc said...

Yay! You're back! Happy New Year to you, too! Hope you get rid of that cold soon. Like you, I didn't make any resolutions this year. Setting goals/resolutions don't work for me. It only adds stress to my already stressed life. So I like to tackle goals one by one as they come. I do, however, feel inspired to write/edit more this year. Last year I was not too productive. But, I managed to write once a week on my blog as I had promised to my bloggie friends ;) Now, that's one accomplished goal! :)
Wishing you lots of inspiration and writing success for 2012!

Patsy said...

2012 did sneak up on me a bit too - still, I do believe it's going to be a very good year.

Linda King said...

Very best of luck to you - I'm full of admiration for your tenacity! Thanks for the follow - and Happy New Year to you :-)

Unknown said...

Thank you for reminding us all to believe in ourselves. I think we writers often (OFTEN!) forget that!

Patricia JL said...

Wow, can I just say how much I like this post? You inspired me, made me want to keep believing in myself. =) Thanks.

Bucket said...

Good for you! Believing in yourself is one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself. And you are worth it :) Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm going to try to be around more often. Happy New Year.

Anne said...

Such a beautiful and inspiring post.
Believing in yourself, I like that.
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Smiles~

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

WritingNut, that is truly inspiring! Believe. So simple.
And sorry you were sick AGAIN!

Southpaw said...

Great words. As Alex said so simple but so true. I hope you feel better soon.

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Believe fits right with what I've got planned for the year - believe I can do it, believe in my abilities. Great post.

Kristy Shen said...

What a wonderful, optimistic post! I love it :) Happy New Year and I wish you oodles of oodles of agents requests, book deals and signings too!

(My new years resolution is to get 100 followers on my blog. We'll see how that works out :P)

alexia said...

I love this resolution! Believe! Have you read American Gods? That is a big theme in that book.

farawayeyes said...

Hi Nut,nice to meet you.

Beautiful post, you made a believer out of me.

I'll be back.

Anonymous said...

I believe too. I;ve never sopped believing. Its a gift. Regardless of the circumstances I beliebe I can write and tomorrow will always be a better day. I'm a hopeless optimist. Good luck to you in 2012!

Janet Johnson said...

What a great resolution! I think we could all do a little more of that. Then the world would be a better place.

Anonymous said...

What a super twist on new year's resolutions. LOVE it, and yeah, I believe! (I'm also a new follower.)

Unknown said...

Welcome back! And yes, yes, yes to your post. Thank you!

Lydia Kang said...

What a beautiful, affirming goal. Yes!

Komal Kant said...

My resolution would be just to make my novel the best that it can be. It's not going to be easy but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good luck with your goals and here's to a fantastic 2012!

grins said...

Thanks for the encouragement and stopping by my humor blog today. It's been a really tough year and I needed to hear a "believe" talk.

Misha Gerrick said...

Welcome back! Sorry to hear about the cold. I hope you feel better soon.

I've got a ton of goals this year with a resolution to achieve at least six before 31 Dec.

Keep believing. One day your hard work will bear fruit. :-)

Green Monkey said...

yep... I love it too! and yep... thats why I don't give up.

I also love that I love to write. I think it makes me super interesting and extra cool. And I'm extra weird because I don't read but I write. well, I know how to read but I have a hard time focusing on anything longer than a blog post.

anyway... glad you are feeling better and look forward to reading more from you. (p.s. I'm also in the insecure writers group.)

Terri Tiffany said...

IT was good to see your name!!! Welcome back:)) I have struggled with believing as well.I love to write but the words aren't coming--I hope this is the year we both believe and do well!

Kenda Turner said...

Believe is a great word! Thanks for the inspiration, and welcome back :-)

nutschell said...

Hey there fellow writingnut! Great to hear from you and great to have you back on the blogosphere.
I definitely agree. Believe is the one word we aspiring authors should always keep in our minds. It will happen-our dreams will come true. :)

Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Margaret said...

Focus. Just one thing at a time, and be present with that one thing.

Tina Lynn said...

Well said <3

Sarah Tokeley said...

Having been told recently that I'll never finish anything, this was a good post to read right now.

Hope you're feeling better.

J.B. Chicoine said...

I'm not so much into the big resolution thing--I'd rather just set another incremental goal once one is achieved...works for me, anyway...

...and I don't think 3 years is an unreasonable amount of time to work on one novel...or 4...or 5...or 6...or...

Tamara Narayan said...

I get really grouchy when I don't write. As far as writing goals, I just want to keep improving. I been reading more literary fiction that blows my mind: Jumpa Lahiri, Barbara Kingsolver, and Jonathan Safran Foer. Their work is inspiring and daunting. How do I raise the level of my writing? One word at a time, I suppose. If anything, I'll try to believe that.

Susan R. Mills said...

This is great and exactly what I needed today! I BELIEVE!!!! Oh, and by the way, I may have you beat on the worst blogger ever thing. :)

xoxo said...

Wonderful and inspiring post. Sometimes I have to remind myself why I write too. esp. when things seem to take forever to get finished :D
Xoxo

Theresa Milstein said...

I feel you're inspiration. It's inspiring me!

It's so easy to dwell on what we haven't accomplished, but that won't inspire us to write, will it?

Every time I return to writing after taking a break, I think it was crazy I ever stopped. Hard work is the only thing that's going to get me anywhere.

This April, I will officially be writing for 6 years. *sigh*

Anonymous said...

I believe and I believe strongly. I have times when my belief falters, but I pick myself back up and continue believing. This was a fantastic, inspirational post.

Robert Guthrie said...

Love it!

Wendy Lu said...

This was a really touching resolutions post. :') Really. I think if we all believed in ourselves and each other a little bit more then maybe miracles would happen every day - the little ones and the big ones.

I'm sure the time and energy you spend on this book are going to be worth it in the end. :) Never give up!

Happy belated New Year!!!

~TRA

The Red Angel Blog

Joanne said...

This is an awesome post! Believe in yourself, never give up. Wonderful! My post this month is similar to yours. And, yes, 2012 snuck up on me too! :)

Krispy said...

BELIEVE is a great resolution for this year. I think mine is either DO or BRAVE because I need to focus and DO more and have the bravery to do it. :)

I can't believe it's 2012 already and that it's going to be February like tomorrow!

Jade Hart said...

Awesome post. I love how you said 'believe' that's the key. I write because I need to, some days I wish I could just give up but like you a place inside me would shrivel if I couldn't get my imagination on paper.
Awesome post and I'm doing the insecure hop too.
New stalker too! :)

Margo Kelly said...

Seriously ... if we would all just BELIEVE!!! That's perfect!!

Jai Joshi said...

To believe is very important. And writingnut, we believe in you too. Keep the faith. We're all rooting for you.

Jai

Kadie Kinney said...

I love this post, even if it took me forever to get to it. I think that's a great resolution to keep for the year. I hope it's going well.

I also wanted to let you know that I tagged you in a fun blog survey if you wish to participate!

Hope all is well!