Looking back over the last few posts, p.C. (pre-Christmas), I realized I’ve been a bit whiney lately. Yuck!
So here is my early resolution: NO MORE WHINING!!
My life is my life. So what if I can’t write as many hours a day as I would like? The fact of the matter is I still write consistently. And I ponder. While I drive kids I think through story lines, get to know characters. In snippets of quiet moments I jot down conversations that have drifted my way and situations I’ve observed. And I read—good books that will raise my standards and not-so-good books that exemplify how not to write—while I wait for ball games to begin or kids to pile in my car or a friend who is running late for lunch. (Sometimes even at a red light—but don’t tell!)
All of the above is writing work, even if it doesn’t net me a certain number new words every day. And until I have a deadline staring me in the face, I need to embrace the flexibility my writing affords.
So good-bye whiney writer. I’m leaving you in late 2006. This writer—one of the five bazillion other writers in the world—is moving forward, past whining to contentment.
D’Ann,
To put it in terms that are somewhat Biblical, you’re still “doing a good work,” whether you’re sitting at the computer, plotting in your head, or “just” being a good wife and mother.
And, by the way, I haven’t noticed you being particularly whiney. Just human.
Have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful new year.
You have exactly 20 days left to whine. If I were you, I’d be doing some extra whining now to get it all out.
And I read a red lights, too.
No whining. Okay. Good resolution. (but I promise to listen to you whenever you accidentally break it! 🙂