What? Lower your expectations! What kind of loser advice is that? Well, I’ll tell you.
When I am revising a novel, it’s not unusual for me to write for 4-5 hours per day. In the final stretch, I can put in 6-9 hours. Pretty impressive, right? I am basically useless for anything else on those days though, and that’s okay because I can’t, and don’t, keep up that pace for very long, usually just the last two weeks of a project.
Some writers love the first draft. Others like the revision. Others just like the idea of writing! They’re the ones who tell writers, “Oh, yeah. I’ve got a great idea for a book, but I don’t really have time to write it.” I’m not talking about lowering your expectations that low! I’m talking about two paragraphs being an acceptable writing day when you’re doing a first draft. I’m talking about reading a great book on the porch because it’s beautiful outside being an acceptable writing day. I’m talking about taking joy in five pages of writing when you’d planned to do five hours of writing. Some writers are never going to feel good about themselves or their writing if they don’t meet a certain word count goal for the day, or they haven’t finished that manuscript by the date they’ve set, and that’s up to them, but I choose to be nicer to myself because I know on a day that I only write three pages, there will also be nine hour days to come. I know that cooking, walking, reading, napping, and hanging out with my husband on those days make it acceptable for me to burrow into my office on the days I need to. Creativity has a tender heart and while discipline is sometimes very necessary, tender hearts also needs to be nurtured in order to thrive. Lowering my expectations and accepting what I accomplish as acceptable even if it’s not what I’d hoped for, helps me as a writer. Are you too hard on yourself?
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