Happy NaNoWriMo! It’s that special time of year where your belly is full of pumpkin spiced everything and your head is full of voices begging for your attention. Of course as writers, this is a fantastic and wonderful thing as you press on to hit that target 50,000 words. But there are some voices we have to start weeding out.

Sadly those spiteful voices may come from yourself. We at times can sabotage ourselves from doing
what we set out to accomplish. So while you may take this time to read and listen to others as to how they made it here are a few things you need to stop saying to yourself.

I can’t do it.

Why not? Because you feel someone is better? Or you may question your experience? We all have to start somewhere and at some point. The only way you can’t do it is because you refuse to start. There’s no secret to it. Get going! I guarantee whoever you’re placing on this pedestal got started and kept going.

Who would ever want to read this?

You. You should be the biggest fan of your work, and you should want to read what you’re writing, right? Out of the many quotes I could use I’m going to go with a half-heard one from director/ writer Kevin Smith: “If you put something out there you’re going find that there are at least 10,000 other people who we’re thinking the exact same thing, but they we’re too afraid to do it themselves.”
Don’t just be part of the 10,000. Be the leader of 10,000.

I don’t have time.

Really? I hate to say it but if you have the time to read this you have some time to write. Many times we get stuck in the assumption that if you’re not up at the crack of dawn, slaving away at the keyboard then you’re not writing. I’ll use myself as an example. I don’t have a set schedule. Some days are better than others timing wise. Lunch breaks at work, short stops when waiting to pick up the kids, coffee breaks (heck, I’m writing this on a series of coffee breaks), have been essential times for me. Carry a notebook and pen with you. Type on your phone. Do what you can to just write.

I don’t have the experience.

Who does in the beginning? There is only one thing is different from you and the writer you have placed on a pedestal. Dedication. They get up and write. There’s no degree that can put that in you. It’s up to you to get up, show up, and work! That’s how you get experience.

What if I get rejected?

Unfortunately that is a possibility. And if you do, so what? Will you be burned at the stake for the shame? I think not. Rejection happens. I personally can knit a quilt to keep me in the winter months. It has nothing to do with your ability as a writer as long as you don’t give up. Besides a lucky few writers get rejected…often. They continue to write and seek publication until it happens. So stop worrying!

There are plenty of excuses to keep you from finishing your work. Whether or not you are taking part in NaNoWriMo keep writing in the way that works for you. Learn to discern the voices in your head, write on, and stay writeous!

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Matt Williams is an avid reader, a collector of many pens, an ever improving father of two, and an all-around fanboy. When he’s not wrestling with cats or a long commute you can find him hunkered down writing something imaginative. He’s working on publishing his first book Beyond Here, a middle grade story involving a coma and a singing flower with a bent stem sometime in 2016, along with a few projects with his other daughter.