He conquers who endures. ~Persius
Writing my third book was not fun for the first year. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces didn’t fit, and I kept accumulating pieces.
What I was trying to write kept getting bigger and more unwieldy. More than one piece wanted to fit in the same space so I had to eliminate pieces I fell in love with.
Then one day, it seemingly let me know what it wanted to be. And it became fun again. But I had to stay with it. I had to trust it was going to fall into place. It helped that I had two other books where creative chaos was also a frustration that I eventually tamed, but this one lasted longer and there were one or two moments where I thought to myself, maybe I should let this one go. It’s too big.
Actually they were more like seconds, because I was on a mission and I know creative missions are not always easy and that’s the very reason they are worth taking on. When it’s hard, the reward is greater.
The puzzle pieces started to fit and the exhilaration of what was forming was to me like skiing or surfing is to others. The path to finish the book rolled out in front of me like a carpet of wild flowers with stepping-stones in between.
The reward was worth the hard work.
In order to stay with writing a book I make:
- showing up as easy as possible- with small steps and lowered pressured
- it desirable and enticing, entertaining, fun
- it gentle and loving
- it a habit
When we think something is supposed to be easy we often quit because we think there is something wrong with us. The creative process is not always easy. Running into creative chaos is normal. When you want to quit, stay.
Any fool knows that to work hard at something you want to accomplish is the only way to be happy. ~Eugene O'Neill
It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein
Comments