If you know me just a little bit you know I’m an Ohio State football fan.

I have been since I was a kid, even more when I attended the university, and as an alum, I’m a crazy fan.

But not like the guy who paints his face scarlet and grey and attends each game.

I mean, there are limits.

I’m a nervous fan too.

The big games… I can barely watch. I’ve inherited this tendency from my dear departed dad.

NOW I understand why he hid in the living room pretending to study a theology book or his Bible during the Michigan game.

But oh, Dad, it’s good you’re with Jesus now because with this new BCS and now Playoff system you’d be going crazy.

It all suddenly got so political and there are what, 8000 sports channels?

Anyway…

My team had a quarterback situation.

Two weeks before the season started, the first string, star QB, Heisman candidate went out with a shoulder injury. After surgery, he was sidelined for the entire season.

Step up second string QB, who found out two weeks before the season opener he was the man.

He had a shaky but victorious start.

Then he had a loss. To a team Ohio State should’ve beaten. To a team that ended up with a losing season. Ouch!

Well, it smarted, hurt, dropped them way down in the polls. Bye-bye National Championship hopes.

But the team rally, rebounded, kept playing, remained faithful in training, in practice, in the film room.

Win piled upon win.

Then the Michigan game — in which anything could happen.

We were winning — we did win — but that second string, first string quarterback?

Got hurt. Broke his ankle. Guess who was out the rest of the game and season.

Well, it was the fourth quarter when the third string QB became the new first string.

He stepped up, finished the game and secured the victory.

But wow, the conference championship game was coming up against a tough Wisconsin team.

What would this kid do? How would he do?

I was glad to be in New York with friends that weekend. I figured we’d not get a chance to watch the game. But we did. Oh darn.

Hubby wanted to watch. He likes tense games. And wow! What a blow out.

This third string first string quarterback lead the Buckeyes to a 59-0 win. No one, NO ONE ever imagine such a score. Especially from a QB who played like 5 minutes all season.

On to the semi finals of the National Championship Play off!

“Okay, Rachel, fine, what’s this all about? I hate sports. I hate football. What does this have to do with writing?”

Everything.

(We won the semi final too. 42-35 over #1 Alabama, btw.)

We get down a lot in this writing game.

We feel like we are the third string. Sometimes we are.

Trust me, it doesn’t change when you get published.

Sometimes you feel like the 15th string. The bottom of the barrel.

But you can’t quit!

If Ohio State said, “We’re no good. We quit. We messed up,” after the Virginia Tech game, they would not be heading to the title game this Monday against Oregon.

They played through the pain and shame.

They focused. They changed their mindset. They kept doing what they knew to do, what would work.

You have to do this as a writer.

You have to STAY WITH IT.

Are you going to let 2015 be your losing season or the one in which you go for the “championship?”

Consider these things:

1. What obstacle or rejection has held you back? Get over it. Put it behind you and move on. Ask God to renew your vigor for you writing.

2. Have you set goals? Even loose ones? “I’ll write for 15 minutes four days a week.” If not, do it. You can’t publish what isn’t written.

3. What about taking it to the next level? You can bet when the third string QB got the call, he upped his game the following week in training. Can you go to a MBT retreat, a writers conference? What about a private coaching session from yours truly or any writer you have faith in? Can you take a weekend away to write? Have you gathered your team? Your offense? Get your spouse and children, friends and family, on board to help you achieve your goal.

4. Change your mind. Instead of “I can’t write. No one is going to want this.” Say, “I can write. Someone will publish this!”

5. Study. Study the market, the craft, the industry. If you’re still trying to write that book you fell in love with six years ago, you might have missed the boat. Yes, some stories are timeless. But have you advanced YOUR story to fit the current market? If you wanted to write an Amish vampire World War 2 spec novel, you probably missed that narrow window. 🙂 Ha! Seriously, be keen, be aware. Make the necessary adjustments.

6. Read. Read to learn. Read to feel. Read to understand what makes good fiction good fiction. 😉

7. Read writing blogs. Attend online chats and workshops.

8. Join a local writers group. They are inspiring. If you don’t have an ACFW chapter, join RWA. Even if you don’t write romance, I promise you’ll learn a lot about writing and be inspired.

9. Pray, pray, pray. Ask God to open doors.

10. Believe. Simply believe.

Make 2015 your best writing year yet.

Go writing something brilliant.