Don’t throw in the towel. Five simple words that pack a lot of punch. I’d given up on my blog for the last four months but decided to take that towel back. However, I haven’t been idle. I’ve been taking writing classes, improving my skills and doing a bit of traveling. I thought about giving up, but I’m back and ready to start walking on the path to success.

But first, some details on what I’ve been doing

I spent my “away time” this summer taking a class I truly loved called “Reading Like a Writer,” where we examined short stories for imagery, point of view, metaphors, the difference between a character’s internal and external thinking and all that good stuff that makes for a great read. Our professor quoted either T.S Elliot, Oscar Wilde or Pablo Picasso who said (whichever one it was) “Bad writers borrow, good writers steal.” That’s not really as terrible as it sounds. It just means if you love the style of a certain author or authors learn from them and find your own voice. That’s been keeping me busy.

Currently, I’m taking a class called “No Critics, No Fear: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days.” We’re working on our first drafts and I’ve committed to writing 1500 words a day every day in November (in case you didn’t know, November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)). I can’t tell you what it’s about, because our professor says it takes away our creative energy, but I’ll let you know when we get the go ahead to talk about our novels publicly. So I’ve been busy, but I had this nagging voice in my head telling me to get back to blogging.

I was feeling like a failure

I was feeling like a failure as a writer. My characters in my novel were boring, I felt purposeless, and disappointed in myself. I was worried about those of you who are kind enough to read my blog. After I reflected some, I realized that committing to 1500 words a day to write a novel, and kick-starting my blog again, was, well, a good thing, a positive thing. So I got to work and spiced up my main character and even had a little fun. The book may not be a best seller (or it could be), but one thing is for certain; it will be an accomplishment. Also, I’m learning the ins and outs of writing a novel and if this one doesn’t work out, I’ll have the frame work for my next one. So no more thinking I’m a failure. And more thinking that I’m a success.

The challenges of blogging

While I enjoy blogging, I don’t love marketing, and I think that’s why I got discouraged. But, I dedicated almost a year to learning about social media marketing and I have to accept that it’s a part of running a blog and the path to success. I am not a quitter–I just put it to one side. It’s like that Willie Nelson song, “You Were Always on My Mind:”

Maybe I didn’t love you
Quite as often as I could have
And maybe I didn’t treat you
Quite as good as I should have

If I made you feel second best
Girl, I’m sorry I was blind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind…

Thanks Willie for the inspiration to start my blog up again.

Quitting is stopping forever

Quitting is stopping forever. During my first year of blogging, I learned how to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, paid $1200 to take a course called “The Copy Cure–” (super pricey), and learned about a cool design tool called Canva. During my discouragement period I was just going to throw it all away! But writing is my gig, so I’m dusting myself off, getting back on course and tackling social media again.

I even started looking for jobs and nothing clicked. And some of the jobs were to help companies write blogs, do keyword research and write so Google would find their blogs. I thought, “why should I do that for them, when I can do it for myself and write about topics I care about instead of touting some other company’s product? No way! I’m taking my show back on the road.

The funny thing was I was looking at all my blog posts on Facebook and I got inspired from my own quotes and what do you know– there were lots about not giving up ! I decided to start taking my own advice!

So that’s it for today. If you’ve stopped working on something you love, start again. It may be challenging, you may like some parts better than others, but if you want to achieve your goals and be successful, whatever you do– don’t throw in the towel.

Until next week, get inspired! And please, if you like my post, like it on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn! Or share it with a friend or family member 😘!