Don't Go It Alone: The Power of Accountability for Writers

From Edie: Larry J. Leech shares how accountability partners help writers stay connected, motivated, and encouraged through life's challenges and the writing journey.

Don't Go It Alone: The Power of Accountability for Writers

by Larry J. Leech, II @LarryJLeechII

Life likes to throw me more curveballs than anything else. At my age, I thought changeups and 75-mph fastballs would be what I faced the most.

Nope.

In recent years I feel like I’ve seen curveball after curveball after curveball. 

And I course, I swing and miss. Grumble. And wait for the next curveball. Miss again. Over and over and over. To the point, I want to throw down my bat, go home, and crawl into bed until life here on earth is done.

But … there’s this thing called adulting. 

Bills to pay. Obligations to keep. Staying connected. 

That’s important to me. Staying connected. Being connected to my tribes in the writing and Star Wars communities. 

I have learned that trying to “go it alone” doesn’t work well for me. I end up being grumpy, irritable, angry, and, honestly, not a nice person.

So, even at my worst, I do my best to stay connected with people, my tribes. And I’ve added accountability partners to what I need. I found being an accountability partner helps me. Of course, I need people to hold me accountable as well. 

Our connection is simple. Depending on our needs, we will share what we’ve read that day, how many words we wrote, how we served someone else, how we lifted someone up. Then we decide if we want to connect via text or email. Most want to use text. An accountability partner in Germany chose email, and he sends his word count every day. He rarely misses a day. 

Being an accountability partner doesn’t take much time. Usually just a few seconds to touch base. Consistency is the key. Even if I don’t read, write, or anything else I committed to, I have found that connection keeps me on an even keel. It can be embarrassing to admit I didn’t do what I promised. But it motivates me to do that work the next day. And the next and the next.

What works for you when life throws curveball after curveball?

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Don't Go It Alone: The Power of Accountability for Writers from @LarryJLeechII on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

A veteran of forty-plus years in publishing, Larry J. Leech II almost always has a hot chai latte within reach. Between sips, Larry loves to work with words as the writing coach of award-winning authors, a freelance editor, and Associate Publisher for Morgan James Publishing. During his first 23 years in the business at daily newspapers, he wrote more than 2,300 articles. Since moving into book publishing in the early 2000s, he has ghostwritten 35 books, edited more than 500 manuscripts, and coached hundreds of authors through the writing and publication process. For more than two decades Larry has taught at more than 100 general market and inspirational conferences nationwide. When he has a minute, Larry enjoys anything Star Wars. He and his wife, Wendy, live in Upstate South Carolina near their son and his family. You can learn more about Larry on Facebook, Instagram, and his website: larryleech.com.