Well, it happened again. On August 1st, I received an email about another 100 Articles in 100 Days Contest. Having accomplished that particular feat just 3-1/2 weeks prior, I immediately jumped at the proposition, believing that a 2nd time around would be a 'piece of cake.' In addition, I was ahead of the game, having already submitted an article earlier that morning. Just 99 more to go!
Knowing that I was soon heading up to Maine for a week and then later attending my son's graduation at Fort Benning in October, my 2nd thought was that I would write 2 articles a day to ensure that I wasn't left with the last minute rush that had occurred the first time around. And, all went well for a while.
When I reached number 60, however, my mind shut down because I was at a loss as to how to rewrite the same material again with different words, anecdotes, or even titles. You see, during the last 3 years, I have written over three hundred articles on voice and presentation skills. How could I say it all again and still be original? But the problem lay deeper than that.
Assuming I could come up with 40 more pages of material, what would I write about once I completed my task? I've got many more years of writing to accomplish if I want my business to be successful. How many more times can I talk about breathing or projection or color?
So, for the last four weeks, I have been struggling with the realization that I was not going to accomplish my goal which is something I have had great difficulty in accepting. Even yesterday, I told my husband that I could finish the contest by Sunday's deadline, if I were to write 30 more articles in which I discussed the speaking voices of famous people including the likes of Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and President Obama.
Of course, life doesn't always go as planned. Several lengthy business phone calls interrupted my writing throughout the day. In addition, I received a great call from my son who graduated from Airborne on Thursday and was enroute to Fort Bragg as we spoke. The final straw or last chapter, however, was when the ezine site rejected one of my earlier articles because of its title. As soon as I read that particular email, I knew it was over. [Incidentally, the title was Plain Speaking is the Best Speaking in Public Speaking. They said that it was too keyword dense. Personally, I could care less about the density of keywords of my titles. Maybe it is just me, but I thought that title was pretty sweet!]
I have spent the last month agonizing about a goal I had set for myself and was not likely to accomplish. I have spent the last month receiving email notifications about all the great articles that were up on SearchWarp that I knew I didn't have time to read or comment on because if I read one, I would have to read another and so on and so on and so on. I have wasted an entire month accomplishing nothing that I wanted to achieve because of a goal that I was unable to achieve.
What did I learn from this particular experience? That I cannot accomplish everything I set out to do and that I should not waste time worrying about it. However, being able to express these thoughts by putting pen to paper, so to speak, is the best medicine. I feel so much better!
I totally understand! So often we set goals and then in going about the pursuit of achieving them, we forget what drives our passion in the first place. This article is a inspirational piece about how to keep things in perspective.
Thank you for your good thoughts. I think part of the secret is learning how to prioritize and sticking to it. I do bite off more than I can chew at times.
Great article Nancy. Imagine writing something that worries you, putting them on paper and voila! the worrying becomes meaningless and it now becomes therapeutic. I enjoyed reading your well-written article. Best to you. ~Nenita~
I agree. I find writing very therapeutic even with deadlines. When I'm pushed to accomplish it, somehow the words come together. However, it didn't apply in this particular case. (I think deep down I knew that it wasn't worth it -- however, I definitely have a book out of all those articles!)
That certainly happens to me but usually another idea or slant suddenly jumps out at me. Gosh, I wish the same thing would happen with a blockbuster novel!
An honest admission for a seemingly inane writing endeavor.
I see the point of rewriting and reediting an essay for more clarity or to add an idea that blends in a transitioonal paragraph that follows.
But I don't see the point of reorganizing and reediting and rewriting the same essay with the exact same ideas just to satify submission deadlines for more articles.
Have I misunderstood something?
Affection to an engine that usually can from an engine stuck at the terminal: Paul
I should clarify, however, that the point is not to reorganize, reedit or rewrite. The site with which I am dealing has an excellent program that rejects your articles on the spot if they smack of any similarities to previous articles. The idea is to approach or talk about a topic in a different manner -- the goal, primarily, to discipline yourself to write 400-500 words a day.
I am forced to write for my business; I choose to write for SW. Most of the time, however, I don't place myself on a timetable for my business articles. What often happens is that an experience when I'm teaching, an email I receive with a good question, a great success story from a customer, or another article on my topic (especially one with which I disagree) becomes the fodder for my articles and newsletters.
I like deadlines...I accomplish much more with them! I think, however, the other website should have waited several months or even a year before intiating the 2nd 100 Article contest.
Interestingly, I never had writer burn-out for writing -- just for that particular contest.
I would have rather been writing for SW instead!
You are correct though. I don't like to see 10 or 12 articles from the same writer (all posted at the same time) on the 'Just Released' page of these ezine sites.
I respect the writer's honesty and candidness. Her conclusion was good. As she put it, she learned she couldn't always accomplish everything she wanted, but learned not to worry about it - a good lesson for us all. We need to swallow our pride and not let our egos get the best of us.
One of the benefits of writing for SearchWarp is that you establish wonderful writing friendships and know that you can 'bare your soul' and be accepted -- whether others agree with you or not.
Nancy, thank you for your insight. I enjoy reading articles about life lessons. I could fill a novel with mine. I find it conforting to know that you cannot fail at anything as long as you learn and grow from your experiences.
Great article Nancy, as usual. 100 articles in 100 days is a pretty good chore. I write and research almost full time and I'm lucky to get that many in 6 or 8 months. I often have several which I have partially researched and if I get in a big hurry, I can produce one or more per day for a short period. Very interesting subject.
I usually have a few in the pot at the same time as well. And, if push comes to shove, I can finish them quickly. Of course then, I have no ideas for a while; however, with what is happening all around us today, the lack of ideas doesn't last long!
Life is all about accepting our failings as well as our successes. It's just who we are; who we all are. You do a wonderful job here on Searchwarp and we all enjoy your articles whether it be one a week or one a month. You can only do what you can.
Shari, Yesterday I was reminded of a quote by Edison in which he said something along the line that he didn't fail 10,000 times -- he just found 10,000 ways it didn't work. I like that!
Great article! I know the experience all too well. Additionally, I fall on your side with the title... sounds like the SEO police dropped the ball and busted another innocent!
Yeh, I thought the title was pretty cool. Glad to hear someone else is in agreement with me. (Of course, having read Bruce Horst's newsletter about title's for the internet versus publication, I still think it fits.)
Hi Nancy, kudos to you for setting out on a second voyage! The bottom line is that we all have to know our limitations and as my husband says, "let it go lou". I guess I should be taking my own advice at this particular point and time :-) Thanks for sharing, this is encouraging information.
What I feared I lacked in this particular case was the tenacity. Interesting though, now that the contest is over, I have no regrets and am glad I stopped it.
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