by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
“As with anything creative, change is inevitable.”
Enya (1961-), Irish musician
Writer-friends, I’m offering you a challenge for 2023. Think of one thing you don’t want to do in your writing life. Maybe it’s cleaning out your overflowing inbox. Maybe it’s something to do with marketing. (I hear those groans.) Maybe it’s entering a contest. You considered doing it on and off last year, but you balked.
Do it.
There you go. That’s the challenge: Do one thing you don’t want to do. Before you say, “Nope,” and stop reading this blog post, let me explain my challenge to do one thing you don’t want to do.
Last year, I was having fun with my Instagram account. Had it figured out so that I was comfortable. I didn’t have a gazillion followers, but I was happy. Then the almighty “they” decreed, “You must do reels.”
Cue sad background music.
I wasn’t going to do reels. Ever. Ever. Ever.
After a lengthy bout of stubbornness, I decided I’d try a one reel. Just one. I enlisted my youngest daughter in an easy, “we’re just trying a reel” post. (See what I did there?) Then I did a couple of reels with our dog Jo sitting with me. I don’t like doing reels by myself and people like dogs, right?
Here we are in 2023. I didn’t want to do reels – ever, ever, ever. Now I’m having fun doing one thing I didn’t want to do – a writing-related reel once a week on Wednesdays. I often enlist my husband to do a humorous take on living with a writer.
Here are six quick tips to help you take my challenge to do one thing you don’t want to do:
- Remember the quote at the top of the blog. “As with anything creative, change is inevitable.” As a creative, your life of inspiration and imagination requires flexibility. Don’t fight change – embrace it.
- Pick one thing. You probably have a lot of things you resisted doing in 2022 for various reasons. Pick one thing you didn’t do – and do it. If you can’t decide, write a few of the “didn’t do” options down on scraps of paper, toss them in a bowl, and pick one.
- Accept imperfection. When you do that one thing, it may not go the way you want it to go. That’s okay. My first few reels weren’t great. The point of those reels wasn’t perfection – it was me trying something new.
- Gather advice. Whatever you decide to do, whether it’s to enter a contest or to record your first reel, ask someone else what worked for them.
- Have a sense of humor. Trying something new? Lighten up. Laughter makes everything easier.
- Pray. You’re never alone in your writing journey. Ask someone to pray for you as you accept my challenge. Do it – but do it with a prayer partner.
The award-winning Thatcher Sister Series by Beth K. Vogt, published by Tyndale House, is described as a “Little Women gone wrong” collection of novels highlighting complicated sister relationships in the style of This is Us. NYT bestselling author Lisa Wingate said, “With tenderness and skill, Beth Vogt examines the price of secrets, the weight of tragic loss, and the soul-deep poison of things left unsaid.” The series includes Things I Never Told You, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been. Unpacking Christmas: A Thatchers Sisters Novella, was released in November 2022 by Never Door Press.
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 14 novels and novellas, both romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a RITA® finalist. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2109 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.