Enjoying the Tedious

A writer really has only two choices to consider in their literary journey:  (1) to either pick and choose which moments to enjoy, thereby causing emotions, dedication and determination to rise and fall worse than a roller-coaster, or (2) choose to enjoy all the moments, including editing, revision, rejection, negative reviews, and isolation.

I can hear the pessimists groaning at the latter portion of that statement, but it is something that I’ve come to embrace and apply to my writing life over the past year.  I can’t even begin to express the difference it has caused, not only to my writing style and application, but to my life in general.  

I’ve learned not to allow my ‘feelings’ to lead and determine when, how and why I edit, seek, research, or write – believing that I must move when inspiration hits me, allowing my gift to flow through me.  I determine those moments, those times and those processes, and find that my ‘gift’ is there to meet me. I set a schedule and become dedicated to it, and I’m beginning to see the productive results.  Things move; perhaps not in leaps and bounds, but in a steady forward motion.  I’m farther than I was yesterday from the beginning, and will be closer to my ultimate goal tomorrow than I am today. When feelings are allowed to dictate, great leaps may occur in spontaneous bursts, but most often are followed by long periods of stillness. There’s no guarantee of progress, because progress is left to which ever period happens to be longer.

I’m also learning that it’s not just my imagination where my gift(s) spring forth, but it dwells in EVERY area of my writing life.  Writing a story is only (1) one part of the journey, and a small part at that.   My gift(s) as a writer flow when I’m booking speaking engagements, author appearances, designing marketing materials, editing, encouraging others, speaking to fans, building networking opportunities, making friends, writing blog posts, etc.  

So, I’ve decided to enjoy all the moments involved in the process.  Right now is a great time to practice, since I’m currently in the process of editing (4) four novels.  I choose to enjoy the tedious process, because I know it’s all part of the bigger vision.  

Till next time,

~T.L. Gray