S is for Set-backs

Sadly, I am behind my self imposed deadline of getting my manuscript completed and off to the person who offered to review it.

Being in a car accident and losing time to that has been a set-back, family commitments and even being in a pitch contest and in the A to Z blog, while positives I am happy about, have been set-backs to working on my manuscript.

One of my set backs was me.  I didn't realize it but I started editing two different drafts of my manuscript and did a couple of chapters more than once, while they seemed familiar I have read my own manuscript many times.  This problem is due to not having a dedicated work space and moving myself from room to room.  I had one copy of my manuscript in one room and another in the other room and thought they were the same copy.  Oops.

For all the set backs we encounter.  There is always the opportunity to overcome.  As I make inroads and pass mile markers I love the feeling of accomplishment.  I know what my final goal is but I set small ones along the way so as I fall behind I can still make accomplishments and the overall goal does not seem insurmountable.

Yes I am behind; but I only have a couple of chapters left to go and I have managed to keep up with my A to Z blogging, I entered and was accepted into a pitch contest and have been trying like mad to read like authors and I have a few books under my belt now since this started.  Overall I have accomplished a lot but I certainly can't wait to have fewer things on my plate.

Set backs happen but they can only derail you from your goal if you allow it.  Keep going.  The fun is in the journey.

Happy writing!

J is for Journey

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” 

― Ernest Hemingway

Before I left for college my mother gave me a poem, which I sadly I have not been able to find again, about life being a journey not the final destination.

I had spent the four years of high school working towards the goal of getting into college.  Now I was prepared to spend four years so I could be an adult.  I was so focused on the goal of college I missed out on the here and now and my astute mother was afraid I would do the same thing for the next four years.  Instead of a lecture she gave me a wonderful poem about the train ride and enjoying all the stops along the way.  This poem was on my desk for all of college and was a wonderful reminder of my mother's love and to enjoy the moment.

The journey of writing has been so much fun, and as Hemingway said, I have a destination in mind but I am really enjoying the trip.

I hope everyone takes a moment to reflect on this and make sure they are enjoying the trip and not too focused on an end result to miss the fun of getting there.

Thanks for spending a few moments here, I hope you enjoyed them.

Movies

As our children grow and we get older I have been faced with a movie viewing problem.

I finally got our son to bed at 9 PM last night so that my husband and I could watch Captain Phillips.   Yes, we are far behind in our movie viewing and here is why: my son is not old enough for PG 13 and if we start a movie we have to finish it in one sitting (my husband's rule) and I get so caught up in the movie if it is at all stressful or tense I am a wreck when we are trying to go to sleep.

On a Friday night we are both too exhausted from our week to stay up until 11 watching a movie, Saturdays we are usually out with friends and Sunday we should go to bed to prepare for the week but that is the only night we generally can watch a movie.  I try to scurry the kids off to bed earlier- which never really works and then we settle in to finish out the weekend with the movie we rented Saturday.

Last night I was so caught up in the tense situation of the movie that I found myself picking at the side of my nail, shifting positions in my seat and taking laps around the couch, and of course I was unable to fall asleep.  I asked my husband about his movie viewing experience and he said it isn't real, it is just entertainment.  I know this but I still associate with the characters in the movie and emphasize with them.

I don't think the director and actors who are putting so much effort into their work want us to just watch the movie as an unattached observer.  I think they want us to feel the story.  Making me their perfect audience.

Yet, my ability to so closely associate with the emotions of the movie wreaked havoc on my sleep last night.  I think I only managed a few hours after I was finally able to unwind and let go.

I cannot limit my movie viewing to only happy comedic movies before going to sleep but neither can I send my children away in the middle of the day so their dad and I can watch a movie and leave myself enough time to work it out of my system.  Weekends are about family time and I don't want them to think that a movie is more important than they are.  I think I may have to skip these types of movies for the next few years, let my husband watch them on his own and keep a list of what I want to see.  If you can see another solution- as much as I have tried I cannot disassociate myself from them so that is not a viable solution- I'd love to hear it.

I hope you all had a restful weekend and your work week is off to a good start.