Today's sermon on internal motivation really spoke to me, probably because of a Goodreads discussion I had yesterday on how much encouragement we get as writers. The person who started thread wanted to know how friends and family encourage our writing. I noticed there weren't many comments on the thread, so in my typical fashion, I jumped in and told the dirty truth:
They don't.
Obviously, a new writer started this discussion thread; somebody who's just starting out and everybody is excited for them. I felt it was important to point out that, once the newness wears off, so will that encouragement. Heck, I've even gotten to the point where people who personally know me won't read my books anymore. It's been a long time since Blurry published in 2011, and even longer since Battleground Earth published in 2004. At one to two releases a year through self publishing, it's too much for most people to keep up with. I get the occasional question and fake smile accompanied by an "oh, that's nice." The encouragement and sales now come from strangers who read and review my books and Twitter, which is where you really need it, because outreach is critical to a writer (Facebook completely ignores anything writing related out of me). The fact that the fan base veers outward from your inner circle can be shocking when it actually happens. And the truth is that the excessive flattery will only come from within again if you have a major breakthrough, or they're buttering you up because they need something from you.
It's like this with all things, and we're all guilty. This is the nature of life: people move on, and keeping up with yourself is a full time job. Just today on the drive home form church, Rick lamented that it seems there's always something we need to be doing. I also ran into two people who said they thought about me over the past week, and it's funny we ran across each other today. Life is strange, and I'll admit that we often wonder if people are really busy, don't care, or just lost track of things. Or how often we've done it ourselves.
This is why internal motivation is so important. You aren't going to get far in life or be happy if you always need a cheering section to keep you moving. You have to find that power within you. And that's what I told that writer on Goodreads yesterday: that the excitement has worn off, leaving me running off of Holy Spirit inspiration and internal motivation. When the newness wears off and everybody drifts back to life as usual, you have to do it on your own. And in truth, that's the way it's always been. It doesn't make others good or bad - it just makes us human.
That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
They don't.
Obviously, a new writer started this discussion thread; somebody who's just starting out and everybody is excited for them. I felt it was important to point out that, once the newness wears off, so will that encouragement. Heck, I've even gotten to the point where people who personally know me won't read my books anymore. It's been a long time since Blurry published in 2011, and even longer since Battleground Earth published in 2004. At one to two releases a year through self publishing, it's too much for most people to keep up with. I get the occasional question and fake smile accompanied by an "oh, that's nice." The encouragement and sales now come from strangers who read and review my books and Twitter, which is where you really need it, because outreach is critical to a writer (Facebook completely ignores anything writing related out of me). The fact that the fan base veers outward from your inner circle can be shocking when it actually happens. And the truth is that the excessive flattery will only come from within again if you have a major breakthrough, or they're buttering you up because they need something from you.
It's like this with all things, and we're all guilty. This is the nature of life: people move on, and keeping up with yourself is a full time job. Just today on the drive home form church, Rick lamented that it seems there's always something we need to be doing. I also ran into two people who said they thought about me over the past week, and it's funny we ran across each other today. Life is strange, and I'll admit that we often wonder if people are really busy, don't care, or just lost track of things. Or how often we've done it ourselves.
This is why internal motivation is so important. You aren't going to get far in life or be happy if you always need a cheering section to keep you moving. You have to find that power within you. And that's what I told that writer on Goodreads yesterday: that the excitement has worn off, leaving me running off of Holy Spirit inspiration and internal motivation. When the newness wears off and everybody drifts back to life as usual, you have to do it on your own. And in truth, that's the way it's always been. It doesn't make others good or bad - it just makes us human.
That's all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
RSS Feed