By Lindsey Brackett, @lindsbrac

Starting a new story is a little like starting a new relationship. In the beginning it’s all bliss and world-building. You’re as smitten by your characters as they may be with each other.

Then this story has to actually go somewhere.

Usually, this is when writers claim the infamous block. I hate to break your castle in the sky, but chances are you don’t suffer from writer’s block. You’re struggling with outrageous expectation.

Sort of the way, this time of year, Hallmark sets us all up for snow and mistletoe, but most of us will just have drizzle and dead icicle lights.

Can I give you some advice?

Lower your expectations. For right now. This moment. Novel writing or motherhood or Christmas or whatever you’re figuring has to be done a certain way in a certain time frame to get a certain t-shirt.

I promise this works, contrary as it sounds. I know, because I only pretended to NaNoWriMo. This fall I needed to finish the next novel in my Edisto series. But it the sand dune at about 50K. Mostly because I was so busy launching my debut I let all my creative energy wane away.

So I promised myself, if I just wrote 500 words a day, every day in November (which is the whole point of National Novel Writing Month’s challenge), then I would be at a point so close to the end, I’d be able to see it.

500 words a day. That’s 15,000 words in a month in case you’re wondering. I almost flunked college algebra, but even I can do that math.

Some of you write that in a day. (I am not your friend but good job.)

My usual writing goal is 1000 words a day on whatever my creative project is at the time. Then there’s blog posts and newspaper columns and social media. I don’t know about you, but my words have been running dry. I couldn’t make 1000 words a day on this novel. I could barely get motivated to crank out a scene every 3 or 4 days.

But when I lowered my expectation, something happened. Psyche no doubt. Related to my need for achievement, I’m sure. But at 500 words a day, I could suddenly write 800.

And I could finish my novel. Which, thank you very much, I just did.

Whatever’s pushing back on your expectation, give yourself some grace to maybe not go at it so hard. Set your expectation on reality–not the castle in the sky–and see if you don’t find yourself climbing higher than you’d ever imagined.

Or at the very least feeling a little smitten under the mistletoe again.

Award-winning writer Lindsey P. Brackett once taught middle grades literature, but now she writes her own works in the midst of motherhood. Her debut novel, Still Waters, influenced by her family ties to the South Carolina Lowcountry, is a story about the power of family and forgiveness. Called “a brilliant debut” with “exquisite writing,” Still Waters also received 4-stars from Romantic Times.

A blogger since 2010, Lindsey has published articles and short stories in a variety of print and online publications including Southern Writers Magazine Best Short Fiction (2015 and 2017).  Her popular column appears in local North Georgia newspapers weekly. Currently, Lindsey is a general editor with Firefly Southern Fiction, an imprint of LPC Books, and she freelances as a writing coach. Previously, Lindsey served as Editor of Web Content for the Splickety Publishing Group where she wrote and edited flash fiction.

A Georgia native, Lindsey makes her home—full of wet towels, lost library books, and strong coffee—at the foothills of Appalachia with her patient husband and their four rowdy children. Connect with her at www.lindseypbrackett.com or on Facebook: Lindsey P. Brackett, Instagram: @lindseypbrackett, or Twitter: @lindsbrac.