What I Wish All Writers Knew

At the very beginning of a writer’s journey, there are a couple of things that if time is taken to explore the answers, the rest of the trip will be easier.

Today I want to share with you one of them (check back in tomorrow for Sarah Raplee and my post on the other).

Know thy self! Wise words and very true when it comes to being a writer with a goal to being published.

Here’s my advice: Figure out what you need to do to balance the many demands you have in your life.

How?

Here’s a suggestion.

Take a sheet of paper and write down the side these topics:

Love/Belonging/Relationships/Cooperation/Team

Power/Competition/Recognition/Acknowledgement/Leader

Fun/Learning/Laughter

Freedom/Independence/Movement

Then add the scale 1 2 3 4 5.

Take some time and reflect on where you’d rank yourself on each of these topics along the 1 – 5 scale.

If you want to double check yourself, ask a spouse, older child, sibling, close friend, etc. how they see you.

Once you see how you rank, you can better see where the problems may come.

For example:

You rank yourself a 4 on Love/Belonging/Relationships/Cooperation/Team.

You rank yourself a 4 on Freedom/Independence/Movement.

There is a built in conflict between these two areas.

The question is: How do you balance your need for freedom, independence, 

movement with your need for love, belonging, relationships, cooperation, team?

If you work full time and have a family and want to write, where is writing? Is it a part of how you meet your Freedom need? Your Fun need? Your Power/accomplishment need?

And if you have a high Love/Belonging/Relationship need you have some planning and most likely some juggling to do.

Here are some resources:

The William Glasser Institute offers classes. They have “Getting What You Want” app you can download. Check out their website for more information.

If you want to look into the Four Needs in more depth, check out http://glasserconceptstraining.com Click on the tab for writer workshops. A handout with more questions is there.

I’ve a series of blog posts on these needs and finding balance at www.judithashley.blogspot.com Ask questions and I’ll do my best to answer you.

My heroines in The Sacred Women’s Circle series have problems we all face and they use Dr. Glasser’s concepts to find their way to their happily ever after.

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual paths that nourish the soul.

Check out her website.

Check out her author page at Windtree Press.

Follow her on Twitter @judithashley19