Have Faith

Whenever new writers are looking for advice or experienced writers are giving advice, it always seems to revolve around having the energy to write. How do you keep deadlines? How do you make yourself write? What do you do when you just don't feel like writing?

There's a lot of good advice out there. Most of it involves having discipline, giving enough of a damn about your craft to do it well, and kicking your own butt when you need it most. But there is another aspect that should be mentioned.

You need to have faith. You need to believe that you will do what you want to do with your writing, get done the things you need to get done within the time that you have. If you don't believe that you can do well, you will never reach your potential.

However, there is a saying about faith that I find crucial to keep in mind: "God helps those who help themselves." If you never sit down and try to write, you're never going to get your writing done. If you don't work for minutes or hours or days on problem spots to smooth them out and make them right, no one else is going to do it for you.

Believe in yourself. Believe in the supernatural forces that you don't understand but work in your favor to help you in your hour of need. Just remember that good fortune comes and goes. In the end, the only things you know you have are yourself and your abilities. Have faith that they are enough by practicing, training, and knowing that they are the best they can be.