I Can Quit Whenever I Want... That's What Scares Me

I've missed a whole month of blog writing. I know... bad boy. But it's not exactly like my writing has suffered. Over the last month, I've been knee-deep in rewrites on Blood of Mars. Currently I'm trying to tie all the scenes I wrote into a coherent thread. Making the beginning match the end and all that.

What's Up Chuck... err... Tony?
I was talking to a friend and realized that its been about six months since I stopped playing Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) so I could focus on my writing.

You have to understand, for me, that's something amazing.

See, first of all, I'm a gamer at heart. Second, I'm a HUGE Star Wars fan. After playing World of Warcraft for almost five years straight, I cut back to just playing a handful of Facebook games. These gave me a little entertainment, but I was worried that when SWTOR was released, I would fall down its magic rabbit hole and I wouldn't write for a long time.

Now, in all honesty, that did happen for about three months. Couple that with moving/unpacking/Christmas and I wasn't doing any noticeable writing for five months. But then I quit doing nothing and gaming to finish my rough draft for Blood of Mars. When that was done, an amazing thing happened.

I didn't go back to gaming.

Why?

Well, mostly it was because I really want to get this bird to an editor so I can start pitching it. But what really happened was that I was having so much fun writing that I didn't need to play a game. Is it stressful? Yes. Is it hard work? Yes. Is it fun? Totally yes!

Keep Moving - Don't Quit!

I still have a lot of regret for those missed five months. Where would my book be now if I hadn't stopped? But when I got back with my writing group, I realized something even worse happened during that time. I started sucking. Sad but true. I'd allowed my writing toolbox to gather dust. When I came back, all my tools were dull.

Have I gotten better? I don't know...

Maybe I never will.

I'm not saying you can't take a day to rest. Everyone needs that. But the longer you quit, the worse you'll get at whatever you enjoy doing.

So, if I went back to gaming now, I'd probably suck. But I'd rather suck at gaming than writing.

What would you rather suck at to achieve your dreams?

Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown