Hey, Internet–did you know that the average first novel is about 100,000 words long? As of today, I have 14,155 words. That means I’m–let me do the math here–more than 14% of the way to a full-length novel. And to think, a few weeks ago, I was exactly […calculating…] ZERO percent finished. I’m really liking the whole get-off-your-arse-and-DO-SOMETHING-vibe that this website has given me.

So, looking ahead, I have about 86,000 words to go. The only thing that stands between me and my lifelong goal of being a published author is… ME. As you may or may not know, I’ve mostly written three novels. Those poor abandoned babies are languishing on my hard drive, just waiting to be finished and revised. There are a number of reasons that I keep quitting–fear, perfectionism, laziness, short attention span, poor time management. And there’s only one way I’m going to avoid the same fate this time around. You guessed it–PERSEVERANCE.

When I looked up the definition of perseverance, this is what I found:

1. Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state–especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. Theology. Continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.

The first defintion tells me that I have to keep on keeping on–even when it’s hard. When my job is driving me crazy and I don’t have two working brain cells left (i.e., “difficulties”), I still need to write. When I have family coming into town to visit (i.e., “obstacles”), I still need to write. When I don’t know where the story is going and I feel like everything I’ve written is garbage (i.e., “discouragement”), I STILL NEED TO WRITE. That’s perseverance. No matter what happens, no matter how you feel, no matter what life throws at you, you DO NOT STOP. Powerful.

And I really love the second definition–continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to salvation. I’d love to be in a proverbial state of grace regarding my writing, and I really do believe that achieving this goal will be a “salvation” of sorts for me.

Here’s my perseverance strategy:

• Believe in myself. Whenever that voice of doubt pops up (“You’ll never finish. You can’t do it. Just give up.”), I will use thought stopping and say, I CAN DO THIS.
• Remember what you’re working for. I’m not writing just to hit my daily quota of 3 pages. I’m writing to achieve my life’s goal of being a published author. Whenever I get discouraged, I need to come back to my real purpose.
• Plan ahead. I know the kinds of obstacles I’ll be facing over the next few months. I know that I have a ton of social commitments from now until June. I know that I’m going to want to be outside once it’s warm (instead of inside at my computer). I know that my husband and I might be moving and starting new jobs. I need to plan ahead and develop strategies for overcoming these obstacles.
• Believe in myself. Yes, I know I already said it, but it’s so important. Isn’t it easy to justify not pursuing your goals by saying, “I could never have done it anyway”? I know I’ve used that cop-out many, many, many times. WE CAN DO IT. Period.

What are the areas in your life where you need to practice perseverance? Do you have any strategies that work for you?

Tags: Goals, perseverance, Personal Development, Writing

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