Hey You: it's okay

6:00 AM

This month was rough. Not gonna lie. Right now, I'm sitting at 20k words. I started the month with a goal of 40k.

HAaaaahaHAAA.

Yeah, that didn't happen. But it's okay! I'm happy with the progress I've made. The goal is 25k but ... we'll see.

As you might have guessed, I learned a lot this month. Granted, I learn a lot every month, but this month especially, I learned a lot about writing, about myself, and about the world. And I've learned that a lot of things we stress about really don't need to be stressed over.

In a word, I've learned that it's okay.



It's okay to not meet a goal.

Goals are there to encourage you. When you don't meet a goal, beating yourself up about it totally defeats the purpose. You likely got a lot accomplished anyway, or at least something. And chances are nothing would have gotten done if you hadn't set a bar for yourself. Hadn't raised a standard to reach for.

It's okay to not feel so great.

You can't really control how you feel. You can choose to think about certain things, and you can choose to change your mindset, which often impacts how you feel. But you can't control every little feeling you have.

And it's okay not to feel great. It's okay to be down. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to be discouraged and disheartened.

The important thing is to remember that you will make it through. We are warriors, and we will fight our way through this life. We will be champions together.

It's okay to not have it all down. 

With my writing, I'm not really sure on some details. I don't know exactly how the Climax of Act Two and Three are going to happen. I'm not sure where my Dark Night of the Soul is going to take place. I'm not sure what my Midpoint even is.

And that's okay.

Writing is about exploring and discovering. So write. Write, even if you're not sure what you're doing. Write, even though the words are rough and you're kind of lost. It's okay to be a little confused.

It's okay to give up.

I don't mean you should abandon everything right now. I mean it's okay to give up a goal. It's okay to give up a deadline if you need more time, or have to move on to another project.

"Give up" tends to carry bad connotations with it. In reality, it's much the same as "letting go" which is very important and very necessary to just about every part of life. You can't live clinging to everything around you. You have to detach yourself a bit sometimes. You have to put up a line and say, "I can't take on anymore." Don't stretch yourself too thin. Give yourself some grace.

If you haven't met your nano goal, take a deep breath.

It's okay. You'll get there eventually.

If you don't know what's going to happen next in your story, take a deep breath.

It's okay. You can brainstorm your way through it.

If you don't think you can take on another project, take a deep breath.

It's okay. You can say no to people. You need to say no to people. It's hard, but it's better to give a few people your all instead of giving a dozen people just an exhausted smidge.

Take a deep breath and give youself some grace.

It's okay. 

Did you survive this month of Camp Nano? Nano-er or not, how did writing go for you this month? Do you need to give yourself some grace?

<3

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11 comments

  1. *hugs* Awww Hannah I always love how honest and real you are. <3 I'm proud of you for writing that much, meeting your original goal or not. As you said, it's okay. We don't have to be perfect and meet every single expectation every time. It's good to breathe and take a break when we need to; recharge. In the end if we still love writing and our stories, that's the important thing! Love this post and you! *hugs again* <3

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    1. Aw, thank you! *hugs* and yes, I totally agree. Loving ourselves and our stories is the most important thing! <3

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  2. I seriously almost cried here. I really struggle with letting go of goals and saying no to things. I just like to go go go until I crash and burn. But we can be so hard on ourselves in doing everything we can that we aren't doing a good job with what we have. We get lost in a storm that we seemed to have created and lose sight of the real goal. I think my favorite bible verses regarding this is when Jesus walks on the sea and when He calms it. When we focus on Him, the storms in our lives are suddenly nothing more than a little breeze.

    Sorry for the ramble. We're going to make it <3

    audrey caylin

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    1. Dude, that "ramble" was the Most Beautiful Ramble. You are gifted with words. And you are so right. We are going to conquer <3

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  3. Midpoint? Climax of Act Two? Hannah, I don't know what my ENDING is! ;)

    I reached my goal of 15k, with a few days to spare, so this has been one of my better NaNo months. I'm sorry to hear it's been rough for you! But you're such a beautiful person to turn that into a post of encouragement for others. :)

    Jem Jones

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    1. Ah, well, I don't really know what my ending is either XP It's a little muddied up now that I've changed stuff around. *sigh* Congrats on reaching your goal! *high fives* And thank you for your encouragement. This comment made me really happy <3

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  4. I love this, Hannah! Super uplifting and encouraging!! I think that in the insane craziness of nano that we often forget the main reason it was started: to celebrate writing and beginning first drafts.
    Nano has been tough on us all, and even though you might have not gotten your manuscript done, you tried. You devoted your time and energy to something, and even if you didn't make it, you're way closer than before.
    Thank you for this!

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    1. Ahhh yes CELEBRATION! That's a good word to remember XP The celebratory part of that tends to get lost in the craziness. Thank you for that brain thought! :D

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  5. Haha yes! It's okay to not write perfectly every single time as long as we keep writing!

    https://tizziestidbits.wordpress.com

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  6. Just relax, everything must gonna be OKAY!

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