Write Things: On Making Quality Decisions

Hello {{ first_name }},

I love “enough is enough” moments.

It took me over a decade to quit teaching, but when I finally did, the spark that ignited inside me wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced. It was light in a couple of senses.

I lit up! I was both excited and terrified. The feeling was electric, I felt as though I was literally glowing when I told people about it.

But I also felt physically lighter. As if the mere act of making the decision cast the burden of indecision from my shoulders.

It wasn’t just any decision.
It was a quality decision.

Mindset Shift

We can make a near infinite number of decisions in any given day. And when our lives are filled with uncertainty, those decisions will appear to grow, like shadows into monsters in the night.

Decisions can become overwhelming because there are consequences involved—real or perceived, it doesn’t matter. The weight will feel the same.

Slightly off topic, but tough decisions are excellent ways to create tension and conflict for your characters. Especially if there is no clear ‘right’ decision. We all know this struggle, and so are quite eager to read about another character’s journey through a tough choice. This is the heart of inner conflicts in characters.

But there is a way to navigate these choices, and that is to take some time and ask yourself what matters most to you. What’s making the decision heavy? Is it because you want both outcomes? Or is it because there’s a potential for soul-crushing failure?

If you had a magic wand, and anything was possible, what would you prefer to do?

If I’m right, that’s probably the choice that also has some fear of failure attached to it. Maybe even some self-doubt. But that if you had the power to guarantee your success, it’s the one you’d make.

This goes for anything that matters to us, but as writers, you 100% have the right to choose to set boundaries around your time to make your writing a part of your daily life.

It doesn’t have to be much. Heck, I’ve seen powerful writing and stories emerge from four minutes of writing.

But here’s the thing. I know that when I finally made my decision, life got flooded with all sorts of uncertainty, unforeseen challenges, failures, and setbacks. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world because helping writers is personally meaningful to me. And so is my own writing.

It feels like I’m talking around the issue, so I’ll tie this all together now.

It is very easy to one-day an important decision—they’re actually the easiest to one-day. I did it for over a decade.

The sooner you make that decision, the sooner you can start your adventure. And I promise you, if the choice is meaningful to you, it will truly be an adventure. You’ll face challenges. You will encounter obstacles, traps, and adversaries. But there will also meet new friends, fellow adventurers on that same path. You will find resilience, confidence, and self-belief. You will experience victories and, of course, find treasures that only adventurers can find.

And the longer you live as an adventurer, someone who pursues their dreams, the most like-minded allies you’ll find, the more trust you’ll find in yourself, your abilities, and maybe in the goodness of life itself. Oh and treasure!

The only way we fail in our journey is if we quit. If we choose to say “I can’t” or “I won’t.” Nothing else can stop you from taking the next step towards your goals.

And so, each of us, every day, have the opportunity to make a Quality Decision.

A decision to not only pursue what matters most to us but to never doubt that decision again.

Burn the boats. If something deeply matters to you, today is the day. And NOW is the time to make a decision to make that part of your life.

Then, just take the smallest step you can towards it.
Tomorrow, do it again.
It’s that simple.

✨ Ready to make writing part of your life? ✨

If writing is a dream of yours and you’re ready to make a Quality Decision to finally live as a writer, I’ve created something special for you.

This October to December, join a group of committed writers inside the Write Things Community. For three months, you’ll have the structure, encouragement, and accountability you need to write consistently, enjoy the process, and grow your confidence.

And here’s the best part: when you follow through, you’ll earn your investment back. You can roll it forward to keep your momentum going, or, if you feel the community didn’t deliver on its promise, I’ll give you your money back. Either way, you move forward as a writer.

👉 Learn more here: https://www.ihelpyouwritethings.com/write-things-community

👉Book a quick 1:1 with me to see if the challenge is right for you: https://cal.com/trevormartens/write-things-community-challenge-1-1

1:1 meetings spaces are limited. Challenge registration closes Sept 30th or when spaces are filled. 

Your Next Four Minutes

Set a timer for four minutes and write whatever comes to mind.
No editing. No expectations. Just listen and write.

Prompt: “Waking Up.”
Write about a moment of waking—from sleep, from a dream, from denial, or even from a long season of life. Or invent a fictional character whose first awareness changes everything.

If you decide to develop your quick-write into a larger piece: 

Technique Tip:
👉 Use sensory details—light, sound, temperature, or body sensation—to pull the reader into the moment of awakening before any thought or action arrives.

From the Write Things Community:

Each of these quick writes inspired pieces featured in the Write Things Podcast this month! Listen to them here.

Marcie H.
The funny thing about sleeping is you’re not aware you’ve been doing it until you stop. And when I look back, I can see that I spent the first 47 years of my life in a state of stupor. Totally unaware. Thinking I was wide awake. That I knew all there was to know about life and how it works–about me and how I work. Then one day I simply lost interest in what I knew and I felt a growing thirst for something else… something more. And I spent the next four years rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Awakening bit by bit to the bigger picture behind what I thought was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Alicia T.
The motions often take place
before the realization
stretching, eyes flutter, a glance around
and sometimes thoughts of procrastination.
Once we are set into motion
sliding into an upright position
we smile, the sun guides us into a new
day of acceptance.
Forwards until dawn and dusk
we lay our heads down into completion.

Josie M.
I opened my eyes, and saw that my boyfriend was holding my hand. I heard him say, “Hey there, how are you?”
“How’s Paula?” I asked.
“She’s good.”
“Did Portugal win?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where’s John? I want to talk to John.”
“I’m right here.”
“How’s Paula?”
“She’s good.”
“Did Portugal win?”
“Ahhh…” I saw him hold up his phone and type something into it. “Oh, they lost in overtime.”
That’s all I remember from waking up after the surgery. They had no way of knowing how Paula was, she didn’t come out of the operating room for another six hours.

Want to hear the pieces these quick writes inspired? They’re featured on this month’s episode of the Write Things Podcast!
🎙️ Listen to Episode 2 here

If you enjoy this edition, please share it with a friend. The more writers we get writing, the more wonderful stories we’ll have in the world.

Until next time, I wish you and your stories all the best,
Trevor Martens
Founder, I Help You Write Things

P.S. It was great to see so many of you out for my I’ll Make You a Writer webinar. For anyone who missed it, I will have it available for free in the next newsletter =)