WHAT I KNOW ABOUT MY “BUSINESS” RESISTANCE
As much as I resist the “business” of writing, I know- KNOW- it’s part of my writing life. It’s not like I don’t know what to do or how. I’ve got charts, categories of folders with writing ideas, files in order ( except for the 20,000 photos on my laptop- many of which do not have titles – still the mind-boggling array of IMGs or even older “image002.”) Suggestions welcome on that one.
THIS WORKS FOR ME
1. Stop trying to figure out the why of any resistance. Less “should do this” around the process means less resistance. Stop labeling the resistance. I get to it- sometimes without procrastination, sometimes hop-scotching from one thing to another in preparation until it’s there right in front of me.
2. Hop-scotching can be a helpful part of prep work. While I’m hop-scotching I’m also thinking, planning the opening to the blog, or the end pops up first, what quotes will fit, photos-yes. And I do “it.”
After the submission, letter, update, edit, critique, or tracking is complete, the next little hiccup is where I can get stuck. Did it get lost? Did “they” get it? When will I hear? Will I hear? Argh.
3.So… change the perspective.
GO FOR IT!
The other day my daily thought from The Universe Talks (TUT) ( ask me about that sometime) suggested:
It doesn’t take much, Ethel, to surround yourself with good friends, good times, and big bucks. (I added a good load of “knowing it’s going to happen.”) In fact, it doesn’t take anything at all. Visualize. For added effect, affirm. And to really spice things up, enjoy the wait…(Aha! Because it will happen!)
…Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.- ~ Mark Twain
Sailing away from that safe harbor I sometimes am reluctant to say good-bye to an enjoyable blog or positive book review.
But when I do, I have this wide open space to chill out for a while and recharge my creative mind,
or dive into the next research or writing brainstorm.
Ethel Lee-Miller blogs regularly about people, the power of words, and her writing life. She’s retired from professional writing gigs after 30 years of teaching, coaching, editing, and gathering writers to publicly share their work. She is the author of Thinking of Miller Place, and Seedlings, Stories of Relationships. These days, in Tucson Arizona, she writes to inspire, to connect with folks, and for the pure enjoyment of it. Ethel enjoys sharing stories at Odyssey Storytelling, Artists Standing Strong Together, and anywhere there’s a mic or a Zoom room.
