Why Progress Sometimes Feels Slow

The importance of finding joy in the writing process

My daughter has been in gymnastics for about five years now. She’s been on a tumbling team for the last three, steadily moving up in terms of the competition and what skills she can do. But it was just the other day that I noticed a sign in the parent waiting area: “Why Progress in Gymnastics Sometimes Looks Slow.”

And as my observations tend to do, it got me thinking.

There is no rushing in gymnastics. You need to build a strong foundation and core set of skills before you move on… and the same exact thing can be said about writing and publishing.

I totally get it. We have these big, huge dreams in our heads. We can’t wait for the day that we either hit publish ourselves or someone tells us, ‘hey, I really like this, can I share it with my readers?’ Or the moment we get a phone call or an email with a publisher saying, “We would love to publish this.” Sometimes it feels like it’s taking forever to get there. (Trust me, I know. I’ve been writing and dreaming of publishing since I was eight years old).

But before we get to that dreamy moment, we have work to do.

We need a solid foundation of skills

Just like in gymnastics, writers need to have a solid foundation from which to write. While I’m all about breaking form and structure, understanding storytelling basics is critical. Learning how to tell a story that not only captures attention but also holds our readers’ attention requires cultivation… and I believe this to be true even if you’re a natural storyteller.

Developing a story takes time and dedication

While there are beautiful moments, a la Big Magic, where I feel like the words flow, I long ago learned that we can’t wait for inspiration. Showing up to the page is where the real magic happens. But even when you show up? More often than not, I only write about 300-500 words a day on my book (because girl needs to work and pay her bills). When you consider my books/works-in-progress are about 90,000 words long, that’s a LOT of days in drafting mode. But rather than deter me, I remind myself of this fact to keep moving forward. Because every single word is one more word closer to “the end.”

Overcoming our mental blocks and fear

To be honest, I wish I could remove this from the list of “why progress is slow.” I have doubted myself, countless times, over the decades, and I know I’m far from alone in feeling this way. Is my writing good enough? Will anyone read what I wrote? Will anyone care?

I’ve done a ton of mindset and personal development work over the years, and what I’ve learned is this: I want to be done holding myself back. There are so many things outside of my control that affect my writing and publishing, but my mindset? That’s something I can control and work on.

Comparison is the thief of joy

While this is a mental block too, it deserves a special mention. Not gonna lie. Especially when I was younger and just out of college, there were times I was jealous of other writers and their lengthy list of publishing credits. I dared to ask: why not me?

Strangely enough, it wasn’t until I was older and, daresay, more mature, that I realized jealousy helps no one. Rather, these published authors are an inspiration. So, what if we celebrate our fellow authors and flip the script around? They’ve done it. I can do it, too. I just have to keep going.

Editing and feedback are crucial to the process

It’s so so so tempting (sometimes) to be like, hey, I finished this single draft, so I’m done! But if you want your story to be the best it can be, you’re not done. My stories always become a million times better after I receive constructive feedback from trusted writing partners. They help me make sure the story I want to tell is the one that’s showing up on the page. They ask questions that make me think and encourage my creativity.

Yes, yes, I know it adds time to the whole process, but if our goal is to put out our best work possible, another set of eyes (or two or three) will help us make our stories shine.

But also know when to put the pen down

Editing is clearly critical. There’s nothing worse than a reader hung up on a misspelling or a misplaced comma and getting distracted from our story. But we can also worry about the book not being “100% perfect.” How do we overcome this perfectionist tendency, which only serves to hold us back?

I heard a fabulous quote at an event by Sue Campbell, a writing coach: “But is it beautiful?” If it can be beautiful just the way it is, you can give yourself permission to be done. You can put that pen down and start sharing. At the same event, someone advised: Don’t aim for 100% done. Aim for 80%. Because if you aim for 100%, you’ll never stop tinkering.

Celebrate the process

Writing anything, but especially a novel, takes time. There are zero ways around it. There might be days when you’ll never feel done – I still remember lamenting to my friends when my kids were younger that I felt like I was never going to finish my Charlotte Corday novel – but, if you keep showing up, keep making progress, one day, my dear writing friend, you will get there.

In the meantime, let’s do whatever we can to enjoy the process. There is so much beauty in the process of playing with words, finding the heart of the story, and bringing the image that lives in our heads to life.

So, let’s keep moving forward, together… one word at a time.

How do you “lean in” to the joy of writing? I’d love to hear from you!