Ever feel like quitting?

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When I started writing over eight years ago, my life was vastly different. Kid-less, married to an alcoholic who owned a bar, with a part-time job. I had lots of time to write. Today, if I want to work on my novel, it requires me to get up at 5am or run away.

My current book is beyond a challenge. It’s a new genre, I’ve been out of the writing mode for a couple years while I was having babies and building a family, and the game has changed. Now, in addition to crafting a genius novel, I also have to build a platform.

I’ve finished the first two drafts, and based on feedback, I get to revise over half of the story. Last night was the results of the first contest I’ve entered it in. The judge thought I’d be better off writing poetry.

I quit.

For about two hours.

Then this stupid character, Ben, wouldn’t leave me alone. This morning I got up at 5 (ok, it was closer to 5:30) and wrote.

My computer monitor looks like a post-it lion, littered with encouraging quotes from other writers who didn’t quit:

Expect No Mercy.

Gratitude: For better to come, good must go.

Be Courage.

Today, I’ll be chanting my favorite mantra:

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. –Calvin Coolidge

Don’t Quit.