My husband and I started a slim fast diet on Feb. 18. Mainly, I did it to support him, but let’s face it. A few extra pounds have found me too. As in, I am not comfortable in my clothes but don’t want to admit it. Just in the first week, so many things crossed my mind. Great fodder for this blog post. Fodder as in material for this post, not food for animals. Although, I might be hungry.

When I first started this diet, when I was hungry, I wanted food. Now. Hunger causes us to do things. Hunger is action. You get hungry, you go eat. If you’re hungry for God’s Word, you go read the Bible. Same with writing. If you’re hungry for a published book, you go write those words each day to see that goal come about.

The more you do it, the more you want. The first week of this diet, I saw results. I wanted more of those results. If you read just a little of the Word, the more you want to. When I started running, the more I wanted to keep running. When you start watching what you eat, and especially pay attention to how you feel, like not being bloated, having more energy, etc., the more you want to continue watching what you eat. The more you write, the more you get into your story, your characters, the plot, the message you want to convey, the more you will want to write, make time to write, learn about the craft of writing to do the best job you can with it.

As you have to research how to eat healthy, find healthy meals to prepare, ingredients, content, so it is with writing. Read craft books, other books in your genre, so you know what works, what doesn’t, what marketing initiatives are available (or create your own!), how the books sell, the authors, and agents. That’s how to make your book the best it can be, just as eating healthy makes your body the best it can be. 

Are you hungry enough to believe you can do this? ‘This’ being whatever it is that you want to accomplish. Just as with weight loss or running, start where you are right now. Haven’t lost any weight yet? Haven’t started writing yet or gotten as far as you thought you would have by now? Get started. Figure out where you are right now and move. Any step forward is forward motion. Once you lose a few pounds, build from there. Keep going. Once you run for 5 minutes, build from there. Keep moving. Whether you’ve written no words ever, none this week, or none this month, (or year) keep writing. Each word builds on the other, each sentence makes a paragraph, each paragraph makes a chapter, until before you know it, you have a manuscript ready to be edited and submitted.

How hungry are you for the things you want to see in your life? 

Sally Shupe lives in southwest Virginia with her husband, two grown kids-a daughter still at home and a son nearby, and a whole bunch of pets: five dogs, three cats, a rabbit, and birds at the birdfeeder (and the mandatory snowman when the snow cooperates). She writes contemporary Christian romance, with two completed manuscripts and three more in progress.

When Sally’s not writing or working full-time, she is a freelance editor for several authors who write fiction and nonfiction; students working on dissertation papers; performs beta reading for various authors; publishes book reviews on her blog; is a member of ACFW; and loves genealogy, running, and crocheting.

Sally uses her love of words to write about God’s amazing love.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SallyShupe1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sallyshupewritings/

Blog: http://sallyshupe.blogspot.com/

Website: https://sallyshupeseditingservice.weebly.com/