“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

– Jack London

The main reason I want this to be my first Quote of the Week for 2022 is because I want to push myself back into writing. I’ve taken a hiatus from serious writing over the past couple of years; just writing fun stuff with a friend and fanfiction rather than writing any of the stories I’d like to publish one day. However, now I’m kicking myself in the pants for not making time for serious writing and just pushing off my characters because I don’t feel like writing or I don’t feel inspired.

I have to chase it with a club, damn it.

This quote has stuck with me since about 2009 when I was a regular member of a writing workshop held at my local library. I actually have to thank my current boss for sharing this quote with the workshop, as she was the one running it way back then. Now I have it set as my background on my HP laptop, which I typically use for writing.

I have loved writing my own stories since I was about 12 years old, and though I’ve never published anything traditionally, I have self-published one book and shared a couple of original short stories online (there, I finally admitted it!). The only reason I’ve never admitted it before is because I shamelessly self-promote my book on this blog like it’s no one’s business.

But… you’ll have to figure out which book it is.

So ,yeah, I’m making 2022 my year. Whether I self-publish another book or just write some short stories to submit into contests or magazines… I’m going to write and share this year. If I was able to write and publish a 50,000 word young-adult book in 4 ¹/₂ months, while in graduate school, I can sure as hell do it now.