Dig In for the Long Haul! By Sally Shupe

It’s June. Where has the time gone? Seems like just the other day it was February. As I thought about this, I got to thinking about where I stood with the goals I’d set in January. I’m still working toward them. Where are you on the goals you set? Have you forgotten what they were? Accomplished some of them? Been very productive and met every one so far? (You get a gold star if you have!)

As I was running this morning, it hit me. When you set out to run for 45 minutes, or 3 miles, or a 10k, you start with a much different mindset than if you were just out for a jog around the neighborhood. You have water nearby. A fan turned on, unless you’re lucky enough to have AC lol. You block off time to run regularly. You can’t just wake up one day and say think I’ll run a 10k today. Some of you might be able to, but not me 😊.

When you get ready to spring clean, what do you do? Throw everything inside the house outside and get to work? No. You can’t finish it in a day. Walls, curtains, floors, windows, etc. You go room by room. When you’re making a quilt or blanket, you have to gather your supplies, find a place to work. When you start a diet, you have to buy the right foods, exercise.

What do you need to do to succeed? Dig in for the long haul! How do you do that? For making a blanket, you make sure you have enough supplies to start. You don’t just decide I need a hook. And then think, oh I need some yarn. A pattern might be nice. No. You gather all that first, and then start. Same with writing! Read crafting books about writing, read books in the genre you hope to publish in, research what agents and publishing houses are looking for, set up a place to work, figure out what you’re going to write, and then get to work.

After you’ve gotten started, find a critique group, a group of writerly friends who’ll read and offer feedback, get to know other writers, with events being online you can even attend an online writing conference.

If you’d like to connect, swap work for beta reads, chit chat on zoom, become writing partners, accountability partners, connect with me. My email is sallyshupe1 at gmail dot com. Let’s do this together! Dig in for the long haul and publish a book. Or spring clean your house. Or finish that blanket. Whatever it is you want to get done, start with the mindset you will accomplish it!

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