WRITING IS AWESOME

The year isn't quite over, but it's quickly coming to a close. For me, November means NaNoWriMo and writing whenever possible, and December means reading and Christmas and trying to recover from the previous sleepless month (aka: regaining my sanity).

I've learned a lot about writing this year -- more so than any other year. I've learned about the world of publishing, the art of crafting a novel, my limits, how I work best, re-evaluating my WIPs and thinking about my next steps in this journey.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was during Camp NaNoWriMo back in April. My words ran dry. My creative soul was tired, brain pushed to its max with all of my crazy ambitions. I was bored with my story, frustrated with my goals, and losing energy, so I didn't have much of a choice but to take a break. 

I wrote a post during that break: The Joy in Stress Free Writing, where I said that I would take writing slowly until I rediscovered that passion. I'm someone who is driven by conquering goals and challenges, so it felt weird to not have any of those hanging over my head and clogging my to-do list.

It's been five months since my writing break. Did I rediscover the enjoyment?! Did it help? Did it teach me anything??

Well, yes. It taught me two things in particular.

1. I can't stop writing.

I've tried gymnastics. I've tried playing the piano. I've tried swimming. I've tried ice skating. I've tried painting. <-- I enjoyed all of these activities for a certain amount of time, but eventually lost interest. 

Writing is a different story (<-- I think I just accidentally made a really lame pun). When I take a writing "break," I find myself doing some anyway just because I enjoy it so much. Even editing isn't quite as bad as it used to be. Now I've come to appreciate how I'm making my story better and dream about it being on the bookshelves one day. *happy sigh*

The month I took off in May showed me how hard it was for me to take a break.  Yes, I may have taken a break from my story, but my writer brain is always churning, always thinking about some future idea. 

2. I can't stop writing because I really, really, really like writing.

Like I said before, I didn't like taking a break, but it helped me rediscover the joy in writing.

Let me clarify before you read into that: I never stopped liking writing... but I did let the stress and the pressure to overachieve impact the enjoyment. There's magic in creating characters and worlds, and that had dwindled.

So I kept my goals smaller than normal, trying to avoid another burnout or having this become a reoccurring problem. And hey -- it worked! Instead of trying to finish a full round of edits for Camp NaNoWriMo, I only went for half of my novel. I didn't get as much done, but I also didn't end the month hating my novel. (always a good thing)

I've fully recovered from the burnout, and goodness, I've realized how much I really loke writing. I love creating worlds. I love penning stories that can transport the reader to another dimension. (unfortunately not literally. though that would be rather impressive if I could send readers to a warped time in space xD)

When I first started writing I wanted to become a published teen author. I still think that would be awesome, but I also realize that my chances of that happening are becoming slimmer. And I'm okay with that.

Even if I'm never published, I'll keep writing because I enjoy it. I enjoy the escape, the thrill, the community around stories. God's given me this ability and place to spew my creativity. (and don't worry -- even though I'm content with being unpublished... I'm still going to work as hard as I can to become an official author. :P) 

I don't even know what my point is for this post. Writing is awesome, guys. And it's important for me to keep checking in with myself: am I writing because it's become a responsibility -- another task to complete and wordcount to meet? Or because I truly enjoy it? It's incredibly easy to get wrapped up in the hustle.

So someday I'll be seventy years old, counting down the days until NaNoWriMo, writing my 50th novel or something crazy like that. I'll have a cupboard overflowing with an enormous assortment of coffee mugs and tea cups. I'll be the NaNo grandma -- writing because she can't stop. Writing because she enjoys it.

(now I'm giggling over that image. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS? dude I want to be a cool writer grandma xD)

Anyway, thanks for reading my rambling post. "See" you next week with allll the October highlights! (and screaming about the fact that NaNoWriMo is SO SOON.)

<3,
katie grace

what did you learn about writing this year?