I Have Published More Stories This Month Than the Whole Of December
What changed?
Attitude
To answer the question, I can say my attitude.
Leading to December, I was constantly feeling sick, and I knew my body was telling me to rest and not worry about everything.
My readership has been down, but it wasn't only me. If you have been around here, you would have read it from someone else or experienced the same.
And I was defeated and overwhelmed as I thought my journey as a writer would help me achieve financial freedom, but that didn't happen.
I have a choice to make, and that is to quit or continue.
My choice was to continue, but that is half of the story. To continue means I should be writing, and yet there were days in December when there was nothing, but at least I have resolved the question of quitting or not.
The only way to have more readers is to get introduced to a new audience, the readers who don't know me, and the only way to do that is to write and write as many stories.
It didn't happen in December. Checking my stats, I only have 35 stories, which is still good, it means I was able to publish one story a day, and a lot of writers would tell you, that is how you do it, write every day.
January 1, 2022
Leading to us welcoming the New Year, I was sick, and I didn't write for a week but instead focused my attention on recovering and not being sick. Finally, at the stroke of midnight, I was well enough to welcome 2022.
That morning, I decided I was well enough to write, and I did.
And I want to report that ten days into the new year, I published 50 stories (two stories are already submitted to publications), and I also took a day off in those ten days.
It means my output this month has surpassed my production in December, and I take that as a win because the only way I can silence my inner critic who wants me to quit writing is to deliver stories, even when I don't feel I have anything to write.
After all, there will always be a story to remember out of my memory and new stories to write, as there is always something new happening in our lives and our world.
Quality over Quantity?
I have two stories already curated, and both are film reviews. Although I never thought I could write film reviews, my stories were curated, much less. I discovered that I could write pretty much about anything by trying something new.
And it excites me to try other genres, and while I agree that everything we publish should be of quality writing, if we obsess about it, we would end up not writing at all.
I believe writing is done by doing it.
It doesn't count if your words remain locked inside your imagination, it has to be on paper, or they have to be published in our case.
Taking the fear out of writing
For now, I feel I am back when I was starting. I am excited again. Although I am aware that I need to take breaks this time, my hands have to rest.
Otherwise, the body pains, especially neck pains, come back because I found out that when I am writing, I don't write in the most comfortable position, for a time, when I was experiencing the pain, I used it as an excuse to rest and not write at all.
But now, I have learned to honor my body and mind when they need to rest. I also allowed myself to do other things, like cooking or watching a new film on Netflix. Besides, I also need to watch a movie to write more film reviews.
Fear is our biggest enemy, not only as writers but as human beings. So the time I spent worrying about what happens to the stories I publish only made me miserable, and while I still aim for financial freedom, and that can only happen if I get more readers, I will never forget why I write in the first place, and that is to bring out the words from my mind, and be able to say, to myself that I am a writer.
The only way for others to believe in me is by believing in myself.
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