Sunday, May 8, 2016

Reprioritizing Writing Projects


A photo posted by rlroberson (@rlroberson) on

Do you have dream writing projects? I've talked before about how I have three unpublished/in the process of revision/manuscripts sitting on my hard drive. I even took one to a writer's conference a few years ago and got very positive feedback on the first ten pages from a fellow YA author. Did I hustle to get the project finished after that? No.

"Well, why not?" you ask. I have plenty of excuses why I don't put forth the effort on my creative writing projects. Here are just a few:

  • I have paying clients I need to complete projects for first .
  • I need to help promote "insert author name" here and his/her novel first.
  • There's a blog post due for someone else due.
  • I promised to go on my child's field trip today, because I feel guilty for working so much the past few months.
  • I'm tired after a long day of working and just want to zone out in front of the TV for a bit.

I could go on and on. A few weeks ago I blogged about another dream project I have over at WOW! Women on Writing. I'm obsessed with true crime and missing person cases. I want to one day use my writing skills to create a stunning, compelling, longform piece of investigative journalism, like the articles you find in Vanity Fair.

But I use the excuses above to keep me from doing so. I'm trying to convince myself that with a little time management, and reprioritizing, I can work on the projects close to my heart and still be a good spouse/parent/contractor. I see other writers do it every day, and I know I can, too. I've got a BIG birthday coming up so I'm giving myself the gift of creative expression.

Won't you join me?


No comments: