The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. It’s an opportunity to talk about doubts and fears you have conquered. To discuss your struggles and triumphs and to offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.
January 5 question – What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?
With a writing career still very much in its infancy, my greatest regret is not having made it more of a priority. It’s not something I have been able to overcome, nor can I even call it properly a work-in-progress…. yet.
The reasons for not having made it more of a priority are three-fold: the first is financial – in that I still need to earn a living to secure not only my current well-being but also my future retirement. The second is my tendency to people please. This results in my never-ending struggle with putting myself and my wants ahead of others, especially when there is no obvious financial benefit to doing so. The final one is my scattered focus. I have so many things I love to do and, having found them in my later years, am loathe to give any of them up. This, unsurprisingly, results in my trying to shoehorn things in, meaning much gets started and less gets finished, or finished to any acceptable standard.
It seems crazy that I’m in this position when I’m a life coach – a real example of physicians being unable to heal themselves 🙂 So I’m putting my money where my mouth is and have hired a life coach for myself for the next 6 months. I expect I’ll have to accept some tough truths, but am confident it will be worth it.
The awesome co-hosts for the January 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken – do take a moment to visit them.
While you’re here, can I tempt you with a #FlashFiction prompt?
Every month, we run a different #FF prompt and this month it’s You’re going on holiday.
If you’re inspired to give this a go, you can get full details here.
© Debra Carey, 2022
Fiction Can Be Fun 
I like the idea of hiring a life coach. I was recently introduced to the idea of book coaches: basically life coaches who also know how the publishing industry works. That’s something I’m thinking about right now.
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James, having just read your IWSG blog post, I think you’d probably find that useful. I hope you find the right person, for that’s a big part of the battle. All the best with it and I look forward to hearing about your experience if you do go that route.
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That is the tricky part: trying to find someone who’s a good fit for what I want to do. I’m sure I’ll write more IWSG posts about whatever ends up happening next.
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It is the tricky part. I’ve considered a number of possibilities for a while now, but this one came right out of left field. I’d recommend you keep open to unexpected sources for the best possible personality fit for you.
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Wow! I hope the life coach helps you a lot. I always feel like writing is at the very back of my mind because of my day job and all of the other things I want to do.
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Sarah, many thanks, and I hope so too. The writing forces it way forward, but what I what is to try and work out a way of having a more balanced workflow so that I’m not leaping from one thing to another in a panic.
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I’ve found that those who offer counseling and such often need to hire someone else to do the same for them, and it makes sense that it would be true for a life coach, as well. I hope it helps!
The Warrior Muse
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So true 3mpodcast, so true. It also means that we put our money where out mouth is about the process and the skills involved. And, I’ve learned that I’m not alone in finding that no one can coach themselves. Thanks so much for the good wishes.
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Having a life coach sounds fun. Keep us posted.
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Thanks Sandra, it’ll be an interesting experience having what I do done to me!
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