How Do I Become a Finisher?—D.M.K. Ruby

Failure. How do you pick yourself up again after failing yet again to achieve any of your carefully crafted writing goals? How do you create realistic and achievable goals? Are setting writing goals even an effective method of motivating one to achieve their writing ambitions? Like so many things in life, it depends on who you are and how you deal with challenges. The struggle with being a procrastinating perfectionist is real.

How do you move forward after paralysis related to fear of failure, or more accurately, failing again? I have been doing a lot of thinking about how I can be more successful in following through with my writing goals. Despite putting “submit a short story to a contest” on every list of goals on January 1st for the past few years, I have yet to pull the trigger and follow through.

I have even gone as far as registering with www.submittable.com as suggested by JGS. Strangely enough, I am not afraid of the inevitable rejection letter. I wish I could articulate what it is that’s holding me back, but it’s a curious mix of reticence and embarrassment and how dare I imagine I can do this and presume anyone would want to read it. Why is this so hard?

I find even the thought going through the process of submitting is overwhelming, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t feel I have a single story that is complete enough to be sent out into the world. I can’t submit it if it’s not finished, right? There are still things that need refining and details that need to be added or subtracted. So, I go on and start yet another story without finishing my thoughts on the last one. I need a weekend where I commit to finishing stories, not starting ones, especially as a few of them really only need a few tweaks to be ready. I will read works in progress to the group but then do nothing with the advice they are kind enough to impart to me.

How to make myself knuckle down and get er’ done? And where will I find this magical weekend of time? If it’s not on the schedule, in my experience, it won’t get done but I’m freaked out at the idea of even putting a writing weekend on my calendar. I have shied away from thinking too deeply about why I resist finishing my stories. Like many, I have had therapy and coaching related to other aspects of my life but not around my writing ambitions. I think maybe my brain is slowly coming around to accepting that I need to do some reflection and figure my shit out, and maybe spelling it out here is a first step.

Any advice? I think I may finally be ready to listen.