Regular visitors to this blog - and I hope it is visited far more often than I post here, which is a reminder I must visit more often - know that this forum is my spot for transparency. So, this weekend I'm declaring my sometimes slug-like pace at getting things done, and my reluctance to venture into domains unknown or foray beyond my comfort zone to secure a goal.
For example, I was recently tasked with writing 10 articles in a seven day period (this serves as a hint for those who think the writing life is glamorous; it's work), and to accomplish this feat, I had to carve extra time into my toils, and I did this by rising at 5 a.m. Monday - Friday and writing and submitting 1 -2 articles prior to 7 a.m. So, I've proven that, when I need to get things done, I complete them. I read recently that you should not tell someone, anyone, a goal that is important to you. I forget the reasoning beyond the advice, but I think it had something to do with keeping it to yourself, cherishing it as part of you, don't share the goal which could become a personal accomplishment...whatever. Anyway, it got me to thinking about a book idea I've had on my mind for a while, which I toyed with by writing a few samples chapters last year, and then left it to rest. Those written chapters were completed due to an online writing group challenge, where on a daily basis effort one participant was rewarded with a prize. I was a recipient of one of those rewards, and after 5 days I looked at my effort, proudly basked in it, saved it to my hard drive, have not worked on it since, but have not forgotten it. There's a reason things stay on our mind: they're important to us for one reason or another. That's why this book idea, and some its already completed foundation, refuse to depart; it's important - to me. Why? It's an escape from the normal realm of writing life for me, which includes daily marketing, article writing, and conversations with editors. However, while I realize that it, much like this weekly blog post, may allow me a peaceful traverse from daily duties, the idea is sedated still. My writer's group knows about the book, and now you the reader are aware of it due to my "spilling" of it here, therefore the advice in the article read I've not adhered to. But that somewhat accountability is not the reason I should, want, need to resume it. I need to continue the journey because it is a part of me, no matter the "other" homes it may find, although that is in itself worthwhile. First and foremost there are thoughts, feelings that need an escape, which once on the page will come back to me in spirit-filled remembrance, which for me would make life fulfilling. Also, It's not about possible publication of the book, either. I in the past wrote a 192-page work of fiction that never left my PC, and once I got those words, that story, out of me, I deleted the document. Perhaps a late editor I knew said it best. "Always remember this: it's about the writing. That is what's most important - the writing." Steve
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Steve Sears is a New Jersey based freelance writer
Archives
February 2024
Categories |