The evil voice in your head must be stopped!

It's easy to get discouraged as a writer --- aspiring or published. The grass is always greener, right? When you're unagented or unpublished, all you want is to achieve that next step. When you have an agent or book deal, you wish you didn't have so much pressure, so many deadlines. And when your book comes out, you wish it sold more copies or got fewer negative reviews.

For most of us, there's that tiny voice in our head telling us that we should try harder and do better, that our writing is crap, that we'll never succeed.

Tell that voice to shut up.

For real.

Even if you're one of those super-polite, classy people who doesn't say "shut up." This deserves an exception.

You're on one of the hardest journeys of your life. The odds are stacked against you, and yet, you persevere. It's time to be happy for what you do achieve, because those things matter, no matter how small.

See, this guy's happy. He wants you to be too!

For example, instead of getting discouraged because I wish I had more time to work on my newest project, I'm happy because I want to spend every minute of every day perfecting it. What if I didn't have an idea that sparked such passion? That would be even worse!

And I appreciate that my Future Husband* is willing to take on more housework so that I can squeeze in every spare moment to write.

And that I have the most incredible cheerleading team in the FNC, and they keep me going when I get stuck and angsty.

And, heck, I FINISHED A NOVEL. And I love it and am so very proud of it.

And I've busted my butt to learn everything possible about the industry, and that knowledge gives me confidence.

I have every reason to be happy, and so do you.

Happiness is all about perspective. It's a choice, one we sometimes forget to make. And if all else fails, wine usually helps.**


What achievements are making you warm and glowy today? Shout it from the rooftop, but if your rooftop is unstable or inaccessible, or the very thought of climbing up high makes you dizzy with fear, then leave it in the comments. I want a feel-good fest in there!

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* Four months! Ahhhh!
** Ok, this is way more emotional than we usually get here on the FNC blog (and it's probably kinda cheesy), but sometimes this journey gets emotional, and despite all the practical advice in the world, this is what we need to hear!