Have you come across any BUTS? I’d be rich, BUT. I’d run a marathon, BUT. I’d be a writer, BUT. What do those BUTS do to us? They discourage us; they hinder us; if we let them, they’ll determine our future before we even get started!
What BUT is holding you back? Can’t get that first paragraph going? Can’t finish the first draft? Why not? I’d start working on that paragraph, BUT? I’d finish the story I’m writing, BUT? But what? I’d clean my refrigerator, BUT? The first thing that pops in my mind is: I don’t know where to start. Let me help with that.
Pick up your sponge and cleaner. Pick up a pen and paper. Or log onto your computer, open a blank document, and put your fingers on the keyboard. Ready? Now go! Give yourself 5 minutes. 30 minutes. Whatever you want to start with. Just start. That’s all it takes. You’ll be amazed at the progress you make. You can have a clean refrigerator. You can have all the laundry washed and dried. Maybe not put away, but it can be clean lol. Until the next pile starts. But that’s okay. If just one load gets done, that’s one more than you had done. If you only get one paragraph written, that’s okay. You’re one paragraph closer to finishing your book. Just get started. If you run for 20 minutes, you’re on your way to running a marathon. Look at you go. Nothing can stop you now!
Everybody’s timeline is different. Don’t compare yourself to others. If it takes all day to get one thing done, that’s fine. You did it. Or got started. Because we all know as soon as you sit down to do something, something else will happen. Be kind to yourself. Decide what you want to accomplish, and go for it.
This week, let’s kick those BUTS to the curb. Let’s do this thing, whether it’s cleaning house, that one thing you don’t want to start, getting that first draft finished, entering that contest. We can do this. There are no more BUTS!
Share what your one thing is and let’s support each other in getting that one thing done! My one thing: Finishing this story I started. It’s about halfway done. Let’s get started!
Sally Shupe lives in southwest Virginia with her husband, two grown kids-a daughter still at home and a son nearby, and a whole bunch of pets: five dogs, three cats, a rabbit, and birds at the birdfeeder (and the mandatory snowman when the snow cooperates). She writes contemporary Christian romance, with two completed manuscripts and three more in progress. They are part of a series located in small town Virginia.
When Sally’s not writing or working full-time, she is a freelance editor for several authors who write fiction and nonfiction; students working on dissertation papers; a copy editor for Desert Breeze; a content editor for Prism (became part of Pelican); performs beta reading for various authors; publishes book reviews on her blog and with Valley Business FRONT’s monthly magazine; is a member of ACFW and a PRO member of RWA; loves genealogy, running, and crocheting.
Sally uses her love of words to write about God’s amazing love.
Connect with
Sally:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sallyshupewritings/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SallyShupe1
Blog: http://sallyshupe.blogspot.com/
Email: sallyshupe1@gmail.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sallyshupe1/
Website: http://sallyshupeseditingservice.weebly.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-schreiner-shupe-8217a639?trk=hp-identity-name
