I is for Inches

So inches. I mean that word in terms of progress. Progress in everything, but especially writing, a writing career, all that. I know I'm not the only one that feels like that progress is so...slow...

Inches at a time. And sometimes that is the most frustrating thing ever. Granted I am super, super impatient (another I word), but sometimes I'm like, hey, universe, I've been working for so long already and working hard and I know I still have work to do but I know what I want and where I want to be and whats with the getting there inches at a time thing?

There's pretty much only two things we can do. First, recognize that inches of progress is still progress and that's good, and if you keep working and work long enough when you look back you realize you've gone miles. Every book starts out with a blank page, every blog starts with zero followers. Have you ever heard someone say they found themselves an overnight success after ten years of hard work?

The second thing we can do is look for boosts, if and wherever possible. Sometimes all it takes to move us to where we want to be is the right help from the right person--the right book reviewer reading it, the right friend recommending it to the right movie producer, or other such fortuitous occurrences. We can't expect or plan for things like this, and have to work accordingly. But we can still look for them and do whatever we know how to do to put ourselves in the right possible places for these things to happen. Does that make sense? I mean, just by having an online presence we make it a possibility for the right person to discover us. What other boost things can you think of for us to do?

Mostly, though, we move in inches. And that's okay.

Sometimes there are some really pretty inches :)

Sarah Allen