By Jodie Bailey

Now, this is the piece of advice I live my writing life by. Ready?

Tomorrow Me will love Today Me.

How does that work?  Well, it couples with my other piece of favorite advice: You can’t edit a blank page.

When it’s hard and you don’t want to write or plot or do whatever it is you have to do that day . . . When you’re struggling with words that just won’t come . . . When the inspiration is simply not there . . .

Think of Tomorrow You. Know what? Tomorrow You will likely struggle twice as hard if you give in and throw in the towel today. But if Tomorrow You gets up in the morning, sits down at the computer, and sees that word count or that scene is there?

Tomorrow You is so gonna love Today You so, so much.

How does this look in my life? Because I’m on a deadline, I have to write a fixed number of words a day to stay on course. If I don’t set those goals for myself to stay focused, I drift off into Neverland and nothing gets done. This means I write whether I’m inspired or not.

Some days, I sit down and there’s nothing in my brain or the “vibe” is off or however you want to say it. I have a choice on those days. I can wave off my word count and add that work to another day, or I can write anyway. Sometimes, this means I write badly. Very badly. And that’s okay, because I can edit it. Words on the page can be fixed later. Trust me.

Here’s the thing, though . . . most of the time when I go back and look at those “bad” days, they contain some of my best writing. I tell people all the time that I think God comes in and edits for me while I sleep, kind of like that old “Shoemaker and the Elves” fable. There’s just no other way to explain it. I fully believe that, if He wants to get the message out then even my worst writing days can’t stop Him.

So that’s my advice. Give some love to Tomorrow You. Do that hard thing today, and Today You will wake up totally in love with Yesterday You.

Jodie Bailey is a USA Today best-selling author of novels about freedom and the heroes who fight for it. Jodie is also a public speaker and teacher who packs her novels with the knowledge she’s gained as an Army wife. Jodie will teach two workshops, “Introducing Characters the Hollywood Way” and “Keep Those Pages Turning: How to Make Your Readers Stay Up Past Their Bedtime!” at the upcoming Cascade Christian Writers Spring One-Day Conference (Virtual), Saturday March 8. 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time).