Motivational Quote from Jim Ryun

I came across this great quote today and just had to stop and share.

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Ryun

This is so important for writers. Many of us are motivated to start writing. A great idea pops into our heads and we start typing like crazy.

But tomorrow, or the next day, or even by next week, maybe our level of motivation isn't so high. We realize we have to do a bunch of research in order to create a realistic setting for our characters to live in. We're not sure what comes next because we haven't taken time to sit down and really think about who our characters are and what motivates them.

Suddenly, this great idea is a lot of work. What will keep us going?

The habit of sitting down to write, even when we don't feel like it. Taking the time to perform the necessary research, even when it's boring. If we stop as soon as it feels like too much work, then what's the point of even getting started?

At some point, I had five different works in progress in various stages. None of them was going anywhere. I didn't make it a habit to sit down and write when I needed to. I allowed life and work to get in the way of my dream. It was frustrating to say the least. I guess I didn't want it bad enough.

Then one day, I put my foot down. I decided, since none of us knows when we will leave this planet, I wasn't going to keep filling up my hard drive with incomplete works in progress. I wrote. I edited. I queried.

Little Shepherd will be released this fall by Guardian Angel Publishing. I am almost done with the edits to my next children's book, and I plan to sumbit it by spring. I am five chapters into my current WIP, Amelia's Mission, which is a middle grade novel.

It is the good habits I've begun to form that have allowed me to make the progress I have. And if the woman once known as the Queen of Procrastination can do it, so can you. Don't let another day go by without starting the good habits that will bring you closer to fulfilling your dreams.

You have the power to make your dreams come true. Use it!