Hello dear readers – Thank you for stopping by. No, I really mean that—THANK YOU! I know that there are a bazillion and one things demanding your time and attention but you faithfully return to Novakistan time and time again to read about my life musings and our family adventures. It means the world to me. So thank you.
I’ve decided that it’d be fun to post an update on how my book-writing process is going around the middle of each month. It provides added accountability for me (so important!) and gives you a fun “behind the curtains†peek at what my creative writing journey has been like. By giving you an honest portrayal of the highs and the lows, it just may help you realize that you, too, can do this and that it’s the perfect time to get your ideas on the page. Heck, perhaps you’ll even join me for the next round of Writing in Community (oh yes, I’m already thinking about my future books—whoa, huh?).
The Good
Joining the Writing in Community program turned out to be a stellar decision (which is fortuitous because I did it on pure gut instinct without any researching). I am enchanted with our ‘little’ community of 400 writers from around the world. I’m writing alone and yet I’m not.
Last night I woke up to go to the bathroom and had a hard time getting back to sleep. But get this, I wasn’t being kept awake by my old friend anxiety but by a curious new mix of emotions—a delightful combo of excitement and joy. It was such a refreshing change.
I feel seen, understood and most importantly, like I belong. The writing has rewards of its own but this giddiness that comes from being in a generous, active community of like-minded folks is absolutely intoxicating. I feel so very alive.
The Bad
I am terrible at doing things in moderation. When I’m in, I’m ALL IN. Obsessive at times. Writing is no exception. I have been devoting about 2-3 hours each day to my own writing and it’s paying off—I have over 22,000 words down! That in itself would be manageable but I still need to read and comment on others’ posts, which is another 1-3 hours typically. Each fellow writer’s focus is so unique (and often crazy-relatable or something I’m genuinely curious about), which is what makes it so interesting. I want to read their posts all day, so much so that my eyes are hurting by the end of it and I have to ban myself from anymore reading.
There’s also the generosity factor. I am keen on “paying forward†the thoughtful comments and encouragement that I am fortunate to receive every day. So long story short, I am far from figuring out the balance on this. It’s fine for now but I’m sure the day will come in the near future when I’ll need to figure out how to write, read and comment more expeditiously.
The Ugly
My inner critic (I’ve named him Stanley—Stan for short) has made it his full-time job to harass me. No seriously—he visits every damn day. He’s relentless. And so tricky too. One day he’ll focus on how much my writing sucks and I’ll believe him for a hot minute until I get some encouragement/momentum and stop listening to that line of critique, but then—BAM—he sneakily switches directions and tells me what a rotten community member I am, taking so much more than I’m giving. That tactic *ALMOST* got me but I saw through his trick. That was a low blow, bringing other people into it. He made one last attempt to get me to throw in the towel, saying that even if I figured out how to be a better community member AND got some words on paper, I’d never be able to actually pull everything together into a cohesive message. This one got me worked up for a minute, then I recognized how panicked he’s getting because I am actually learning and producing quality work each day. And that made me feel sorry for him. Because I think he really just wants to keep me safe and not see me fail. So I told him that I’ve got this, that his services are appreciated but not needed. We’ll see if he gives me some peace this week… Â
