Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Mantra

Do you have a mantra? A saying that helps you press on when you think you can't?

For years, mine has been, "I can go the distance."  I'm not sure why.  It just popped into my head one morning while working out.  I must have been tired and wanting to give up.

I was thinking of it this morning as I took my son to school and passed my sister-in-law out running (she is training for a marathon) and wondered what she uses as a mantra to get her through those long runs.

I then started thinking about how my mantra applies to my writing life as I hadn't previously thought of it in those terms.  It does, however, work well for this side of my life as well.

Struggling to form a new idea...press on.  Struggling to find the right words to flesh out a new concept...keep writing.  Having trouble editing and polishing the final manuscript before submitting...keep working.  Getting a rejection, or multiple rejections...go the distance, re-submit and keep doing so.

So many of the life lessons we use in our daily life also apply to our writing life.  Persistence and hard work are keys to success, in life and in writing.

How about you? Do you have a mantra that serves you well?

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