Hope your holiday was grand! We had a great time with the in-laws and my parents. It was, without doubt, the least stressful Thanksgiving week I've spent in recent memory. I wasn't worried about turkey and gravy and all the trimmings. Oh, I was fixing them, but I wasn't worried. If it all turned out terrible (and it didn't), we'd have piled into the car and gone to a restaurant.
I've learned over the past year that you sometimes just have to let go of all the expectations and pressure. That doesn't mean I'm great at it, or that I always take my own advice, but this time, for once, I did. And everything turned out fabulously.
It's really easy as a writer to get wound up over things you can't control. Selling your book, getting an agent, discovering the secret to success. And once you've sold a book and have a career going, it's easy to obsess about things like sales, list placement, and whether or not you think your next idea is any good. You can drive yourself crazy if you let those thoughts swirl around unchecked.
So let go. Focus on what you can control, which is nothing more than the writing. Focus on the writing and the story and let the rest take care of itself. I know the holidays can be crazy, and I know the demands on your time will be heavier than ever. But take time for yourself somewhere in there. Take time to just be still and quiet, to know that you're doing everything you can and that you'll get there so long as you don't quit.
I had a great Thanksgiving, and I hope you did too. One other thing I got done this weekend — with the help of my husband and in-laws — was decorating the Christmas tree. There are some years where I'm running so late, due to deadlines and other commitments, that I don't even get the tree up. And other years where I get it done at the last minute. But not this time. This time it's done, and I'm feeling accomplished. I'm sure there will be things in the next few weeks that make me feel less accomplished, but for now I'm going to enjoy it.
Let go. Focus on what you can do and not on what you can't. Breathe. January will be here before you know it. 😉
Wow! What an amazing tree. So pretty!
@Lucy King: Thank you, Lucy! 🙂
That’s an amazing looking Christmas tree! Very elegant, Lynn!
Just seeing your post about letting go today. I’ve been on the dark side of the moon for almost a week. LOL! But this resonates so much with me right now. I have so much to let go of in my life, my children moving on with their lives, my mother living in my house (ACK!), trying to focus on writing while working, the holidays… the list goes on. I’m sure everyone is having to juggle many hats like this.
The one thing that does nag at me sometimes is the sensation that I’m wasting my time writing. I’ve struggled with this lately. Besides continuing to write and not quit as you mention in Tuesday’s blog post, do you have any other sage advice? Thanks!
@Katherine Bone: Sorry, Kathy, but I don’t. I’ve certainly been there myself, where I thought it was a waste of time — and I quit for a while. But look what happened to me now, so if I hadn’t quit, then what? Would I have sold earlier? Been farther along on my career?
It’s a personal decision, but for me, I wish I hadn’t quit for that period of time, even though I did accomplish other things in my life (master’s degree!). Writing is tough; getting published is even tougher. It won’t happen when you think it should. And it won’t happen at all if you quit. If you can quit and not miss it at all, then fine. But if you do, then it’s not a waste of time and you probably shouldn’t give it up.
Hugs.
Thanks, Lynn. You answered the question. Don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t write. So I guess the answer is trudge onward ho…. LOL!
But what do you do when you feel this way and know you need to write but doubt yourself? 😉
@Katherine Bone: Doubt is normal. Unfortunately, it never goes away. I still have it even after all these books. You just have to find a way to shove it into the closet from time to time so you can complete your stories. But it never goes away. Not for you, not for me, not for any writer I know.
@Lynn Raye Harris:
Ah! That stinks. I was looking for the gold ticket. 😆