these things I do

Welcome to Thursday, June 8th, 2017 the day AFTER June 7th, 2017, the 1st Wednesday of the month and the official day of IWSG.

( Déjà vu…I feel as though I’ve been here before, many times, many, many times. 😦 )

It’s a very real possibility my membership has been dissolved, being tardy for the party and all.

Which is exactly why I am the perfect member for The Insecure Writers Support Group.

For a second, I also thought my free badge had been revoked, lol, as it was momentarily lost among my image files…phew, located & posted. Shaking it off, I am set.

The group posts a monthly prompt, an inquiry I failed to realize existed, adding to my list of insecurities, paying attention, mostly, writer’s ADHD…moving on…no one should want to stop and visit there, so here is the open question for June.

Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

Like, E V E R Y day.

In my house, when things heighten to the major melt-down, the code quote is, “I’m going to bed.” There are no quitters here, just many sleepy people with an out. The flip switch. So excuse me while I run for a snooze.

Seriously?

I’d have to say I am being very serious. Sheer will power and the honest fear of failure is the general fuel behind tenacity. Dear Lord, save me from…me.

Yet, I have a horrible tendency to hear clearly other people’s advice. Half the time they don’t think I am listening, but their words stick like resin to the soft tissue of my brain…”Take the week off.” “You put too much pressure on yourself.” “I’m concerned you are doing too much.” “Give yourself a needed break.”

What I hear them saying, “Quit, quit, quit.” 

 

If I did…the week would turn into a month, the pressure increasing to the heights of Mount Chimborazo. (Everest isn’t tall enough) The doing too much would nose dive into doing nothing. The break, in the end, NOT-worth-taking. Not for me. When I don’t write, I become depressed, even for a short stint.

It really is a part of me. There is no choice. I have to write. No well-intentioned advice needed, so please, just, don’t. Occasionally, I will relax into the comfortable nap. Just saying the words are a fail-safe.

“I’m going to bed.”

If I need re-direction I indulge in new writing classes, re-visit craft books, read, read, read, brush my teeth or take that shower I’ve been neglecting. This, being ready to publish the book you’ve been working on for years, will happen. A craft coach recently reminded in gentle tones, when it does, more than likely, the “polished” novel of the correct manuscript style won’t be perfect, littered with typos, incorrect tenses, a possible missing word or two and that is okay. It’s the cursed human thing for those of us living on the planet named earth seem to deal with.

Slay the beast…

Enjoy the magic carpet ride…

Take that nap…

And mostly, never forget…

 

Write On! ❤ Jess