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A few weeks ago, I posted about picking a word for the year (for life and writing) and many of you joined me in that. I had such a good time reading through your words and enthusiasm! Here are some of the words people picked: Patience, Consistence, Experience, Focus, Believe, Journey, Whole, Clarity, Faithfulness, Growth, Explore, Passion, Structure, Dedication, Strive, Commit, Persevere. (It’s not too late to pick a word, if you want to join in!)

My word for writing this year is joy, and I chose it after a joyless writing season in 2020. (This happened early in 2020, before I could even blame my problems on Covid.) I was navigating a stressful publishing situation, and most days my husband was coming home from work to a wife who was angry, hurt, and in tears.

One evening, after this had happened yet again, I thought he was feeling annoyed with me. (Probably because I was feeling annoyed with me and how this same stupid conflict kept going on and on.) I said, “I’m sorry I keep letting this situation take over our nights.”

But it turns out he wasn’t annoyed with me at all. While I didn’t write his words down, he said something along the lines of, “I’m not upset with you. I’m upset that your work makes you feel this way these days. I’m upset that it doesn’t bring you joy anymore.”

This was true, I realized. And now that I thought about it, it made me upset too.

I initially pursued writing not because I thought it would make me rich (though that would be nice), but because of the joy writing stories brought me. I traded the financial security of a traditional job for the joy and flexibility that came with writing. For our family, it was a good trade. But somewhere along the lines, I let my joy get eroded. Writing had turned into a stressful job that paid terribly and brought me minimal joy. How had I let that happen?

Joy and hard work often coincide, so it’s not that I believe writing and publishing should always feel easy or fun. (More on that in a bit!) But I knew I had to reinvigorate my joy for writing and storytelling. I wanted to work with joy again . . . but what did that look like?

I decided to make two lists, because that’s how I roll. One list for things that filled me with joy as I worked and one for things that drained my joy.

“I feel joyful as a writer when…”

I have time for writing.

I write during writing time.

I write stories I care about.

I support other writers.

I take care of my body.

I’m learning about writing.

I can tell my habits are serving me well.

I know what I’m supposed to be working on.

“I don’t feel joyful as a writer when…”

I’m comparing myself to others.

I use the phrase “should be.” (e.g. “I should be posting more on social media.” Or, “I should be writing every day.”)

I think in terms of scarcity. (e.g. “She got a publishing contract, so that’s one less for me.” Publishing is not a pie. There’s room for all.)

I feel afraid or insecure.

I feel tired.

I feel rushed.

I obsess about what others will think about this book.

I’m looking to other people (or publishers) for my validation.

I’m unsure of what book to focus on.

These lists were helpful as I tried to figure out what it looked like for me to grow into the kind of writer I wanted to be: A “joywriter.” Because now I had something to aim for. I needed to do more of the things on the first list, and I needed to cut out things on the second list.

If you picked a word for your writing in 2021, I encourage you to try a similar exercise. Say you picked the word “Intentional,” like my best friend, Roseanna. Make a list of things that help you to be intentional, like tracking how you use your time, planning out goals, or having an accountability partner. Then make a list of things that keep you from being intentional. Maybe that’s fatigue, hearing social media notifications, or some other distraction.

Or “consistent” was a recurring word in our community response. What helps you be consistent? For me, I’m best at being consistent with writing when I have a dedicated place to work, when I have set hours for writing, when I care about the story, when I have my own computer, etc. What keeps me from being consistent? My kids being out of school or on weird school schedules (hello, 2020!), giving into distraction, being tired, and not having a deadline or goal.

If you want to make your lists in the comments, I would love to see them!

One more thing about whatever word you chose: Expect some hardship. If it was easy, you’d be doing it already.

Let’s look at the challenge of joy, for example.

After Christmas, my family went to Pensacola Beach, Florida for a few days. The beaches were full of soft, white sand but empty of other people. The weather was perfect for long sleeves and bare feet. I was sleeping for nine and ten hours a night. I felt deep joy all three of our days in Florida.

But if you’ve ever prepared for a vacation, you know that’s not the full story. My husband and I worked for that joy. He researched locations and campgrounds. He booked our stay months in advance. We made packing lists for us, for the kids, and for our travel trailer. We grocery shopped and stuffed our tiny fridge so that we could avoid restaurants, grocery stores, and Covid on our drive. We towed our trailer 15 hours there and sat in traffic to cross two separate bridges to get to lovely Fort Pickens Campground before driving 15 hours home. Multiple spreadsheets were involved.

My point?

Yes, there was deep joy, but it didn’t come cheaply, easily, or haphazardly. We invested money, time, and energy into achieving those joyful three days.

What does this mean for writing? To me, this means if I want to grow into being a joywriter, I can’t expect to be comfortable all the time and still find joy. There will be an investment. There will be some suffering. I’ll feel tired. Some writing days will feel hard. But if I stick with it, there will be a payoff too.

Growing into the writer you want to be isn’t an easy journey to be on, and it’s a great JOY to me to be on the journey with you.

If you make lists like the ones I shared above, I hope you’ll share them in the comments section!

P.S. As small as it sounds, just writing down your word in a place where you’ll see it can make a big difference. I would suggest posting it near your writing space. If you do and you post a picture of it on social media, I’d love to see! You can tag me: @StephMorrill on Twitter, @StephanieMorrill on Instagram, or @GoTeenWriters on both.