I Gave Up.

1. The Problem

I'm tired of being the nearly there girl. Recently I discovered a bank of unfinished novels and unedited vlogs, a blog which I had geared towards my writing but never saw it through. I'm guilty of starting up projects but never getting round to finishing them, This blog is another example of that. I started it in August 2016 but only wrote until October, somewhat ditching it on the wayside. I said that I was tired of being a 'Jack-of-all-trades', and expressed my excitement in taking that leap of faith to pursue something that my heart desires. 

Writing has always been at the back of my mind, but in suppressing myself I forgot how much I enjoy doing it! Last night I was up until 3 AM, reading one of my old works - Unwanted Desire - which I started writing in 2012. I was amazed to note how I'd almost gotten a thousand reads on It and votes as recent as. What further amazed me was the fact that I had written about 10,000 words in 5 sittings. For a moment, I couldn't believe the speed at which I was writing this novel and I felt ashamed at the fact that I had left so many people hanging simply because I'd given up on the story. 

2. The Recovery

I also found that this was a common trend with all my work. I'd develop such an intense passion for a story idea and a couple of chapters into the beginning I'd stop writing. It's one thing to discover a problem but its another thing to find a solution. It's crucial that one is able to identify their problem, Isolate it in order to draw out the causes of the problem so that an effective solution can be utilised.  I decided to research different ways to write novels faster and overcoming writers block. Now there are TONS and TONS of information out there. This is a struggle that many writers go through. From the words of Sandra Tsing Loh,

"When faced with writer's block, lower your standards and keep going!"

I quickly realised that there is no 'quick fix'. There isn't some magical secret to which only the professional authors are acquainted with. Writing is an art. I'm a firm believer of that. In order to be successful, I realised that I had to lower my standards. I was expecting way to much from myself. I felt that I could just open a Word Doc on Monday and type a manuscript of perfection by Wednesday to have published and printed by Friday. It was just unrealistic. For me personally, I lacked structure. I learnt the crucial importance of having a sound plot, well developed characters and a story outline. All this while I was diving in blindly - dare I say, to the Word Doc. and it was to no surprise that I'd find myself not being able to write "fast". It was to no surprise that after a month or so I'd be stricken with 'writers block'. 

There Is a lot that I've found and because this Is basically and intro, I'd like to save my tip-sharing for my upcoming posts on the matter. Please do stick around for that.

So, how does one finish their project? Well, three components are needed:

1. A PLAN

You can not get very far without a sense of direction and that's a FACT! 

2. REALISTIC MINI GOALS

Honestly, setting mini goals will not only help you to feel as though you are edging closer and closer towards your ultimate aim for the project but it also reduces the workload into bite-sized chunks.

3. WILLPOWER

"There is no better motivation than that which cometh from within" 

- Mercy Amadi 

(I just made that quote up ! )

And finally...

You are going to want to give up. Don't.

As always my loves, STAY FRUITFUL! Hopefully I can be more consistent with my work. Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers - we're all in this together!