I’m halfway through my writing challenge and I look back at all that I’ve done so far. Sometimes, I think I should be much further along by now. If I look back, I can see I’ve received some great feedback from complete strangers. Other times, it appears to me as if I’m missing the mark.
I’ll ask myself: “Why do I feel like I’m missing the goal? Are people entertained by the things I’ve written?”
People have shown me on countless occasion, how to get my content to go viral and I’ll be honest, I haven’t figured it out. Even if I did figure a way, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten as far as I have with consistency. It is important to write your vision and make it plain, otherwise the mark will move and a moving target is exceptionally hard to hit.
Admittedly, my mind has morphed countless times on what this challenge was supposed to be. The challenge was simple. Write one short story consisting of 1000 words or more, each week for a full year. I’ve accomplished this 26 times, and I’ve done so while still writing my own book, going to work, dealing with seasonal allergies, sinus infections and more. The task was and always has been consistency.
If you write great, then excellence comes. If you don’t feel like writing, then do it anyway! If you think that the activity at hand is too easy, then kick it up a notch! There is no progress, if there is no resistance.
If you’re reading this and you’re an author or simply trying to attain your goals, I want to be honest with you. I’m not running a race and neither are you. We are running the marathon and in that marathon; one step goes down and then another. A marathon is successful when you keep putting one foot in front of the other. Someone will always run ahead of you in the middle of the race and that can cause you to act erratically and lose form.
Breathe.
Pay attention to your form, say a prayer, and finish your race strong.
When you cross the finish line, you’ll turn around and marvel about all the miles you’ve completed.
And to think, it all started with your first steps.
-Jace
Jace Rockland 