Act, Don’t Think

This past year has been a whirlwind for me. Last year, I made the decision to make writing a priority in my life. Since that decision, I’ve thrown myself into not just my writing, but also different writing groups in the area.

I’ve loved to get to know other writers in the area, and even those online. There’s a different kind of energy when you’re part of a community, rather than writing alone. But there is one thing that I’ve noticed. There seems to be two kinds of writers out there.

Those that write, and those that talk about writing.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the ideas. To think about the illusion of being a writer, and to create something out of nothing. Here’s the thing about creating. It’s hard work. Not just hard work, but grueling, exhausting, tedious work. It’s never ending. There’s the planning, and the actual writing, and then you’re stuck with months and months, and possibly even years of revision. It’s so easy to cut corners. To not revise as much as it really needs. One round of edits, right?

I’m one of those obsessive kind of planners who has to know exactly what’s going on. In the writing group that my Co-ML and I lead, we work really well together. We knew our theme for this year by the beginning of December last year. We started preparations as early as January and February. We bounce ideas off one another, but that’s not where it stops. We push one another to actually act on our ideas.

The best writing partner anyone could ever ask for!

We assign one another different responsibilities. I work on one part, and she works on another. We come together to always move forward, instead of dwelling on our dreams. We make them a reality. Whether it has to do with our own personal writing goals, our group goals, or even random, silly things like a music video, we don’t just dream.

We do.