Done (Might Be as Important as No) Holly Schindler

When we talk about balance, we always gravitate toward discussions of saying no. 

But the thing that's helped me more than anything lately is saying done. 

I'm your classic overthinker-slash-tinkerer. I never think a project is completely finished. I always think it could be slightly better. Or needs another editorial round. 

Letting go of a project too soon has always felt like giving readers something that's not my best. 

But at a certain point, what is too soon? Not everyone has the same opinion of what my best is. What I think is my strongest book goes on to sell the fewest copies or get the most mixed reviews. 

So I've been forcing myself to let go. To say done. 

What has that allowed me to do? 

Since May, I've:

Launched a podcast

Released my first video writing course

Dusted off my YouTube channel and begun offering writing tips (I even started a I Have an Idea for a Novel. Now What??? series aimed at getting writers through their first draft).

Started offering writing resources (like my FEELS Method for Writing Scenes)

Released my Christmas book

Finished the first draft of my writing craft book on narrative transportation

Designed 12 new patterns and listed them on Spoonflower

Gotten back into traditional painting (rather than just digital)

...all because I've started to say "done." It allows me to move form project to project...to project...

To be sure, that doesn't mean slopping through something and throwing it online. But it does mean that there is a point that continuing to work on the same project stops being about polishing and starts being foot-dragging. Or fear. Or doubting yourself. 

After a while, there's such momentum that comes from just releasing your work and not overthinking it. And, after a time, a real sense of power. 

~

Holly Schindler is the author of A Blue So Dark