I almost didn’t write this post today. ‘Cause I didn’t feel like it. I had no idea what to write. I didn’t want to be sitting here in front of my computer staring at a blank page.
So I procrastinated. I made breakfast and took a shower. Two things I rarely do until I’ve already finished my writing for the day.
Then I played with the dog, hoping that an idea would hit me and I’d be off and writing. Nope.
Then I read through a few posts from the most inspiring people I follow. Still, nothing.
Then I sat here, again, in front of a blank page, still not knowing what to write. And nothing came.
Until I realized, sometimes, that’s just how it is.
Sometimes, you don’t have anything to say. Sometimes you’re not inspired. Sometimes you don’t feel like doing or don’t want to do it.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show up. Because it’s in the showing up that the words finally come.
Maybe not right away. Maybe not when you want them to. Maybe not even during the time you’ve specifically set aside to do your writing.
But if you just show up and keep showing up, they will come. It’s inevitable. At some point, words just come through.
Because that’s how it works.
Showing up is the prerequisite for inspiration. Showing up over and over and over again.
And if you show up and it doesn’t come out right away, that doesn’t mean you call it a day. It might mean you need to do something else for a little while or you need to read something inspiring or take a walk around the block.
But that doesn’t mean you stop trying.
That’s a problem a lot of writers have. They get started on something–a blog, a short story, a novel–and then when they get stuck, they just stop showing up. They start making a million excuses for why they can’t write right now or are too busy or don’t have any ideas or aren’t inspired.
And then they buy into those excuses, call them “reasons” and live their life avoiding the one thing they truly want to be doing.
I admit, it’s not at all easy to have discipline and force yourself to sit your ass in a chair and do the writing. It’s hard. And some days it’s really, really, REALLY hard.
But a pro writer just keeps showing up.
That’s one of the biggest differences between a pro writer and a wannabe. A pro knows that showing up is the most important thing. A pro will show up, even when they’re not inspired. Even when they don’t feel like it. Even when they have nothing to say and all the words they’re writing are coming out like garbage.
A wannabe writer will let lack of inspiration or not feeling like it stop them. A pro never will.
If you wanna be a pro writer and eventually a pro author, the first thing you must commit to is showing up every single day. Sitting at your computer in front of a blank page with a blinking cursor and just getting down to work.
Over and over and over again.
Many days will be great. Sometimes the words will flow. Sometimes you’ll be so inspired the words literally shoot out of you like you’re having target practice.
Bullseye.
Other days will SUCK. Sometimes the words will be so stuck it’s like you have to pull them out one-by-one, a little at a time, and blood really will appear on your forehead.
Sometimes they won’t come out at all and you’ll stare at a blank screen before taking a break and then coming back for more.
But you always have to come back for more.
Dream life or bust,
