On your journey to becoming a more intentional writer, you need to learn how to make peace with your writing past. Most folks have at least a little regret over time wasted or opportunities missed. Allow yourself to mourn what could have been. Then turn your focus to moving on.
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Begin Again {Guilt Free}
Going back to square one is not giving up. Sometimes it can be exactly what you need. It is okay to start over. Make this moment your new beginning. Everything you have done up until this point had meaning.
All those old outlines, book drafts, journal entries, or blog posts served a purpose. You needed to work through them to get to where you are today. Acknowledge them, thank them, and then let them go.
If you have difficulty with this, ask yourself: Is this writing going to help carry me into the future? Or is it unnecessarily tying me to the past?
Let Go of Perfectionism
The primary factor that holds us back as writers is feeling what we produce must be absolutely perfect before we send it out into the world.
Of course you want to thoroughly edit, and share work you can truly be proud of. But sometimes you just need to accept the uncertainty that comes with all creative ventures and know you have done your best.
Perfectionism keeps us from living our best writing life. Freeing yourself from the need to do everything “right” is the only way to move forward.
You Still Have Time
All writers in their twenties see thirty as some sort of looming deadline. You stare it down and glorify it as a tipping point where you become a “real” adult and have your life figured out.
You may look back and remember when your younger self thought about where you would be by this time in your life. You may think that you’ve missed your chance. You may believe it’s too late. It’s not.
In a few short months I will turn 50, a milestone that seems simultaneously impossible and just about right. Last week I published a non-fiction book, this week I am relaunching my website, and next week’s agenda includes starting a brand new writing project.
It doesn’t matter when you start, it just matters that you do start.
Can you learn how to make peace with your writing past so that you can become more intentional with your writing right now?