If
you follow my blog or social media accounts (or know me in my non-electronic
form) you see/hear me say “never give up” all the time. It’s my thing. Never
give up on your dreams. I’m a firm believer that persistence can get you any
place you want to go. BUT, I’m slowly realizing, sometimes it’s okay to take a
breath.
I
set lofty goals on how much writing I’m going to get done on a particular day
and dig in. I’ll sit in front of my keyboard until my brain turns to pudding.
But I keep on going, spinning over the same thing without much forward motion,
because, damn it, I’ve set a goal and I’m going to meet or beat it. So, I keep
rewriting that paragraph, not liking it anymore on the tenth version than I did
the first. Or I’ll rearranging a sentence over and over wondering if I repeated
a word or just think I did because I’ve read the same sentence twenty-five
times in a row now? I tell myself don’t give up, you have five more pages
left to write/revise today and I push through.
I usually make or exceed my already sporty
goals, but fall into bed like a zombie way past any decent bedtime not always happy
with the way I ended and with nothing accomplished around my house. I’ve found
that when I come back to my writing the next day I go back and whip right
through whatever I’d been spinning on. So, my stubborn side is slowly accepting
that taking a breath has some merit, too. I’m trying to be more aware and when
I realize I’m in the throes of a spin, I make a note to reword this or
rearrange that—if I’m not sure what’s bothering me, I’ll just make a generic note
to review or reassess—and walk away. I’ve usually accomplished quite a bit by
the time I hit a wall (i.e. get tired) and have the problem fixed first things
the next day. When I give my brain a rest, my dogs get an extra round of
frisbee, or I get a load of laundry or dishes done before I run out of clean things, or I get to read a few more pages
of a book before I fall asleep (YAY). I still say never give up on your dreams,
but I think you can also be kind to yourself in the process.
Only
a few weeks in to this new way of approaching my writing, I’m finding it easier
said than done. But I’m trying. I continue to tell myself, that it’s all right, I’ll
get there. Just breathe.
Happy
Writing (and Breathing)!
Traci