Writers tutorial entry; 5 things to stop doing (if you really want to finish your novel)

Your novel isn’t going to write itself (I mean, if
it were, it probably would have finished itself a
long time ago!). Here are the five things you
need to stop doing immediately if you want
turn yourself into someone who stops asking
questions about how to write a manuscript
and starts bragging to friends about how you
completed your manuscript.
1. Nix the excuses.
We get it, life is busy and writing is hard work
sometimes. Still, excuses never changed
anything, never inspired anybody, and never
made any dreams a reality. Goals like writing a
novel don’t die on their own. We suffocate them
with our excuses.
2. Stop trying .
Your novel needs less “trying” and more
“doing” from you. Like Yoda said, Do or do not.
There is no try.
3. Stop the Inner Critic’s crazy rants.
Shut it down. Duct tape its mouth. Stand on its
neck. Whatever you do, don’t let the Inner Critic
make you doubt yourself. There’s no reason to.
This is open range and there are no rules, no
right and wrong. You can do Whatever. You.
Want.
4. Don’t overdose on caffeine.
Seriously. I’m sorry, but it has to be said. Call it
tough love if you want, but more writers go
stark raving mad in espresso-fueled rages than
any other artists (with the exception of polka
musicians, for obvious reasons).
Trust me on this. You don’t want your
neighbors finding you crawling through their pet
door at 3am in search of more coffee because
you ran out at your house two hours earlier.
Not that that’s happened to me. I’ve just heard
stories.
5. Stop thinking it should be easier.
That’s like hoping gravity will get less gravity …
er … ish. Less gravity like. OK, poor choice of
words. You know what I mean. Bottom line:
writing is what it is. Sometimes it’s easier than
at other times. Expect it to be work and you’ll
be thrilled when it doesn’t feel that way.