The only sunny morning we had this week, I sat on the edge of my
deck brainstorming plot ideas. I couldn't help but notice the grass, which was
in desperate need of being mowed. Far from a perfect lawn like those
found in the suburbs, my Vermont yard is made up of dozens of different types
of grasses and weeds. A clump of grass near my left bare foot was a fuzzy
variety and the dew stuck to it like a hundred tiny diamonds, glistening in the
sun.
Of course, as I
stared, the dew evaporated. The sunshine, the very thing that lit up the drops
of dew and made the grass so beautiful, also destroyed the miniature artwork.
There has to be a story in there somewhere.
The grass reminds
me of burnout. I struggled a bit in July, having took on too much--even though it was all stuff I loved. Really, it
was just life playing its tricks. I had an end-of-the-month deadline, and only
had to cram because I had whooping cough for most of the month of June. I
worked through the illness, but afterward, I wasn't happy with the quality of
that work. So, July became utter madness. It all turned out okay, though. I submitted that book and while I wait for the edits to come back, I’m working on the
edits of a different book. Round and round we go!
Distractions. If
it's not one thing, it's another. One month it's whooping cough, another month
it's a great new idea for book, but you have a deadline for something
different. Some days I have to mow the lawn. Some days I spend with family or
friends. Distractions come in all forms, good and bad, big and small. Good
thing I’m a Libra—I’m good at finding balance.
Balance is key, not that you haven’t heard that before. For me, it’s
very important that no matter how hard I work at my writing career and how busy
I get, I don’t neglect my family and friends. It’s so easy to do. But, if my
best friend wants to go out for lunch, and I have a deadline… I go out for
lunch. I wouldn't have it any other way, and it all works out.
What distractions, good or bad, have you faced recently?
1 comment:
Lovely blog! I feel the same way about my lawn. The balance is in the diversity. Distractions are something every writer faces, but you are right. Family and friends can't be forgotten along the way. It's just a matter of learning how to best juggle the distractions
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