This project often feels like it is too much for me. Who am I to think I'm worthy of completing it? But I have been entrusted with people's personal stories, people who have been through unspeakable pain and want the opportunity to share their stories, and I cannot give up. I will finish this book, even if it takes years. I'll finish it, even if I have to self-publish it and then fail to sell any copies.
I read an article on traits that creative people often possess; you can find the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/creativity-habits_n_4859769.html
This excerpt of the article really touched me:
"Doing creative work is often described as a process of failing repeatedly until you find something that sticks, and creatives -- at least the successful ones -- learn not to take failure so personally.
"Creatives fail and the really good ones fail often," Forbes contributor Steven Kotler wrote in a piece on Einstein's creative genius. "
This reassured me that failure-be it a rejection letter from an agent or two weeks of failing to pen a single word-is part of the process.
I am challenging myself to work on my writing for an hour every day. That includes work on this project, on the novel I'm working on (which I have abandoned just as severely as this project lately), research for both projects, correspondence with agents and interviewees, and updating this blog. Progress is progress, no matter how slow. A blizzard is composed of snowflakes.
