Writing a book is such a romantic idea.

"I have so many things to say. I'll just sit down with my computer and coffee and a perfectly written book will just appear, right?"

WRONG.

It is a ton of hard work. Writing about your own life can force you to do immense amounts of emotional processing. There are days when you sit down and the goal of writing a single word seems impossible to accomplish.

When you start you'll celebrate every small milestone, and feel as if you could conquer the world. It's possible, I suppose. But then, reality hits.

NaNoWriMo wants me to reach 50,000 words to consider my writing a book?!

I'm at 5,029 so that puts me at roughly 10% of the way through this draft.

A measly 10%.

And then you start to question whether or not you can possibly stick with a project for that long. Is it even worth it to try and write?

Start overthinking and you can add thousands of terrible outcomes to the scenario of being a published author.

What if I majorly offend someone by writing about them in an unflattering manner? Or, I could get all negative feedback to my hard work.

Wow, this is not seeming quite so romantic anymore.

Being an author is an incredibly vulnerable place, especially for someone who does not easily share her inner thoughts with others.

I am incredibly thankful for Hannah Brencher and her writing intensive about writing a book. My book is in progress.

I am writing a book. Wow.

If you are thinking about going after a dream, I would offer this advice: go for it.

You are more likely to regret never chasing a dream than you would be to grieve the beginning of a pursuit.

So lace up your shoes, and find what you are passionate about.

And whatever it is, just start.

Take the first step. Write the article, ask that boy out, dye your hair, go on that adventure.

It may not be the romance that you were anticipating, but it will be worth it. Embrace the good, the bad, and the bittersweet. Accept that just because it was not what you expected does not mean that your dream is unworthy of pursuit.

Maybe you have had a lot of negativity directed your direction. It can come not only from the people around us but sometimes from within as well. The voices screaming that you will never finish, you are not enough.

You are enough.

HEY. Celebrate those small victories on your way. Don't listen to the haters.