I am a SLOOOOW writer.
And at first I thought this automatically disqualified me from embracing this vocation seriously.
I would vacillate between a mad dash to draft faster, and giving up in burnout and despair.
The biggest mind shift that allowed me to actually finish my current WIP occurred when I embraced a pace that felt “good,” that allowed “flow,” that left me energized at the end of a writing session instead of drained.
This tends to be about 400-500 words per day on average, which adds up over time, but proving that to myself was a huge part of the battle, because it felt insignificant at the early stages of my manuscript.
Regardless of word count, my main goal now is simply to enjoy the work itself. My slow pace allows me to luxuriate in words and sentences, and yes, I could be more efficient or optimized, but that’s not the goal.
I’m going to love the book I write, and I’m going to love the process of writing it.
Write on and Keep Calm.
