1. Just because you’re not “feeling motivated” right now doesn’t mean you can’t still finish what you started.

2. Life will always try to get in the way. It’s up to you to find a way to Make Words Happen anyway.

3. You’ll always wonder what “might” have happened if you’d finished that story you started but never finished.

4. New, shiny ideas will always lose their extra sparkle eventually. You have to stick to what you’re working on now before you move on or you’ll never finish anything.

5. First drafts are supposed to be a mess. That’s why they’re not final.

6. The longer you stick with a writing project, the more you tend to learn from it.

7. You’ll feel worse if you give up too soon than you will if you continue to struggle moving forward.

8. Everyone has rough days. Just because writing is hard today doesn’t mean it will be just as challenging tomorrow.

9. Everyone gets stuck. The only way to get un-stuck is to keep writing even when you’re unsure where it’s going.

10. Finishing your first draft will get you one step closer to becoming a published author! Baby steps!

11. “I finished a first draft” sounds a lot better than “I tried writing a book once.” Not that this isn’t still an amazing feat … you get what I mean!

12. The feeling you get when you “finish” something makes the struggle and stress all completely worth it.

13. Finishing a draft gives you an excuse to celebrate! Bring on the cake.

14. You’re not done telling this story yet. It’s counting on you to, at the very least, keep trying.

Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is an editor and writer, and a 12-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food, and Star Wars.

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