You can do hard things

Photo by Andy Holmes

I'm going to share something today that I wasn't planning on putting out there quite yet, but I'm committed to it no matter how long it takes, so here we go.

I'm writing a book. It's a dream I've had since I was young, but back then I thought I'd publish fiction and I've decided to go with nonfiction first. As a kid, I would go to the reference section of our local library and pore through pages of books with contact information for literary agents and publishers and send my short stories out via snail mail. 

Most of the time I didn't hear back, and when I did they were all rejections.

Since then, I've put the idea of writing a book on the back burner. I always said to myself, one day I'll write it. But this year has felt so uncertain and I thought, Why not build it into your schedule and your life? What are you waiting for?

I began to pour my negative energy around this year's events into a book proposal and started to submit it to literary agents. I don't know if I will end up self-publishing or working with a publisher (the industry is ridiculously and notoriously tough), but I'm on the path. 

At first, the hardest part was deciding I was going to go for it and make the time to do it. Now add to that challenge all the lows of rejections and criticism. When it comes to my writing, I don't mind constructive criticism but I don't do well with harsh critiques or misunderstandings of my work. I'm trying not to take it too personally, but it's hard. But I want to make it happen, so I will. I can't explain why I've wanted this since I was a child, or why I still want it. It's just one of those things. 

And then there are the unexpected disruptions. Last week, I was about to go back to my desk and continue writing, and boom. The school nurse texts that my daughter needs to be picked up and taken to the ER for stitches. All the worry and logistics take over the next 24 hours - how did it happen; is she in pain; which hospital do we go to; which parent will pick her up and take her because we only have one car; will the doctor speak English; what will the recovery be like? So far, all is well and she wasn't in much pain, thank goodness.

There will always be disruptions. 

Your schedule is all over the place and your time is limited. 

You may fail again and again.

But if you really want to make something happen, you can do it. As they say, where there's a will, there's a way.