You’ve probably seen this advice floating around:
Don’t talk about your creative project until it’s finished.
The idea is that staying quiet helps you focus, protects your energy, and prevents you from chasing the dopamine of praise instead of the work itself.

I get it. I’ve lived it.

When I was working on my doctorate, I didn’t tell many people at first. Not because I wasn’t proud of it—but because I wasn’t sure I could finish. Imposter syndrome crept in. I didn’t want to sound like I was bragging. I’d been raised, like many of us, to be modest and not draw too much attention to myself.

But that didn’t stop other people from talking about it. Word got out. And while no one said anything negative, I felt like the spotlight had been turned on before I was ready. I realized I had a choice: I could shrink back or step forward and own my story. I chose to own it.

And that lesson? It came back to me recently.

One of the books I’m working on right now is a fantasy novel. I’ve been published before, but not in fiction. This genre is new territory—and honestly, it makes me nervous. I’m still figuring out whether I want to submit it to literary agents or self-publish. That fear? It got the best of me. I let it stall me out.

I haven’t touched the draft in two months.

I kept thinking, Who am I to write this? What if it never goes anywhere? What if people think it’s silly?

But then I decided to try something different.

I created a mock-up of the book cover and wrote a blurb—just for fun. And then (deep breath)… I posted it to my Facebook page.

And guess what? It reignited something.

Seeing that vision out in the world made it feel real. People responded. I remembered why I started writing it in the first place. Now I want to finish this book like… yesterday.

Sometimes, we need to see our own dream reflected back at us to believe in it again.

---

---

So here’s my reminder to you—and to myself:
Talking about your work-in-progress doesn’t mean you’re bragging. It means you’re being brave. It means you’re letting yourself believe in something before it’s done. And that’s often what gets you to the finish line.

You’re allowed to take up space.
You’re allowed to be excited.
You’re allowed to keep going—even if you stopped for a while.

---

What dream have you put on pause? And what would happen if you dared to share just one small piece of it?
Tell me in the comments—or share this post with someone who’s holding something quietly and might need a little nudge of encouragement.