Choosing Mediocrity to Become a More Successful Writer

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

I’m always looking for encouragement as a writer. Something to motivate me to write. Something to push me through a slump or to challenge me to improve my craft. Sometimes my goal might be to put words on the page, other times I’m searching for a metaphor or simile that will elevate my scene with deeper emotion.

Want to know what motivated me the most in recent weeks?

The encouragement to be mediocre. 

Didn’t see that coming, did you?

I discovered the podcast Ted Talk Daily, specifically one by sociologist Christine Carter titled “The One-Minute Secret to Forming a New Habit.” She introduces the concept of the “better than nothing” habit, something that is easy to repeat again and again. We can do it when we are tired or have no time. 

Let me give you a simple way I applied Carter’s “better than nothing” habit in my life. 

Have you ever been encouraged to drink water, perhaps by your doctor or a nutritionist or a personal trainer? The usual recommendation is 64 ounces of water per day, although some people say the amount needs to be adjusted based on factors like your weight and how much you exercise. 

I’m lousy at drinking water. I just don’t do it. I decided to adopt the “better than nothing” habit by selecting a fun llama water bottle I’d received as a gift and telling myself I only had to drink one of these each day. I didn’t even measure it to see how much water I’d consume. 

You know what? It was easy to hit such a low goal. If I drink one bottle, it’s also easy to drink two if I want to – and I usually want to drink more.

“The goal is repetition, not high achievement,” Carter said. “So go ahead and be mediocre, but be mediocre every day. Take one step, but take only one step every day.” (Emphasis mine.)

How does this apply to writing? 

You tell me.

What “better than nothing” mediocre habit can you do today to improve your writing? And then do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day?

• Write 50 words in your work-in-progress (WIP).
• Read one page in a craft book.
• Research one comparative title for your manuscript to add to your book proposal.
• Work on one section of your one sheet. (Select from your bio, your one-paragraph synopsis, your contact information, your graphic.)
• Do one exercise to improve your health. (Combatting our “tush in chair” lifestyle)

As we accomplish our mediocre habits, we can build on them and succeed at something more ambitious in the future. 

You can do this – be mediocre and succeed as a writer!

TWEETABLE

Choosing Mediocrity to Become a More Successful Writer - @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releasers May 2020. Other books in the women’s fiction series include Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.