Once upon a time (three months ago, to be exact), a freelance writer developed a blog, some book chapters, and a guilt complex.
You see, this writer started out herself to please—to fulfill a dream, put her heart at ease. No more would she hate herself for putting it off—no longer would her naysayers scoff.
And so writing a schedule–for she must have a plan–finally, she began:
January
Wake up at 6, breakfast, goodbye.
Then meet with the Lord, at 7 or so.
Eight was for exercise, don’t get flabby!
Then 9 was for work—let the writing begin!
The plan was to write until 4 or more—
Her memoirs, her art, her triumphant score.
But alas, as soon as she began,
She got the email from the man
Who wanted revisions on his manuscript…
So she said, “Okay, I’ll look at it.”
Then April came…
She’d made no progress
On her own goals…but I digress.
April
As the writer looked back on the past three months, she realized she had not stuck to her guns. Besides some blogs and some personal slime, she had nothing to show for her time. Something had happened, but she was not sure what—had she just wasted time, sitting on her duff?
As she searched the memories of her mind, she discovered it was not that she hadn’t tried—it’s just that some stuff had come up inside.
The joy of Jan was followed by blues…somewhere in Feb, kids came up, too. Then, in March, she thought back to home, a topic deserving a fully-fledged tome. So maybe her story isn’t written yet, but perhaps just now its reaching denouement.
What has she learned, this freelancer babe? In three months of blogging, and burbling, and talk? Maybe she just needs to lay off the clock.
- Sleep in sometimes, and let the mind rest.
- Talk to a friend, get things off of her chest.
- Relax, and take the stick out the rear.
- Go for a run, the fog will clear.
- Relax, be a wife, and a friend, and a person.
- Those bad writing days? Well, you win some, you lose some.
As she thought on these lessons she’d learned over time, she decided her life was really quite fine. The dream was not lost, merely delayed—and even if slow going, it still with her stayed. Maybe, she thought, I’ve been under delusion—thinking my story needs a conclusion. Maybe, in fact, I’ve been all wrong—and I’ve been living the dream all along.
Lindsey Gendke 