Persistence

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'press on' has solved, and always will solve, the problems of the human race." –Calvin Coolidge

Press on. With NaNo, with any writing goal (with any goal in life). Focus on baby steps and press on. Don’t think about how many days or how many pages in the finished project. Just focus on today’s goal. The words don’t have to be great. They just have to be on the page. The only thing that will get them there is persistence. No excuses.

No ‘trying’, as my teenager tells me in the morning when he isn’t up for school and is laying buried in his blankets. “I’m trying.” Like I tell him, trying looks like action. Action in writing means words on the page.

Now get busy writing those 1600 words before I have to put on my drill instructor hat . . .

“Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.” – Roy L. Smith