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A little over a year ago, I decided to take a break from article-writing and focus on finishing a book. I’d been writing snippets here and there for years, and even had a few pieces of it published as articles in various places and under various names.
A steady stream of article deadlines kept me busy, which was both great and a problem. Every time I thought about pulling the book together, I had an article deadline pressing in on me, distracting my thoughts.
But in Spring 2008, I felt the time had come to “clear the deck” and make way for this bigger project. THAT was when I made my decision to stop doing articles for a while. It was MY clear next step.
RIGHT AFTER vowing to do this, the 2009 theme list arrived from one of the publications for which I’d written pretty regularly.
Should I open it? I wondered.
It could be dangerous. I might see something on there that I want to write about and, before I know it, be up to my ears in deadlines again.
It seems like almost every time I see my next step and am about to take it, there’s always something, right at the beginning, to try and make me second-guess myself.
I set it aside at first. A few days later, I opened it, scanned quickly through the list and found that, though I connected with several of the topics, I really COULD resist the urge to write any articles in the year to come.
Phew! I did it! I saw my next clear step and I stayed with it rather than wandering off! (This was huge for me. There are not enough exclamation points to convey how huge.)
I had “cleared the deck,” so to speak. NOW I could work on the book, completely undistracted.
I dug out the 35,000-word draft and began tinkering…
(more to come on this)
Keep tinkering!
I sent my mouse story to another publisher yesterday. #4! I’m more hopeful this time because my instructor at TWG conference gave me some suggestions for improving it, filled me with encouragement, and suggested a possible publisher. I’ll let you know what happens.
Super, Fern! Please DO keep me informed!
What courage it must have taken to do what you did. It seems as though it was a very good thing to do. I know how the tide of life carries a person along relentlessly. Unless you grasp a branch as you drift past and drag yourself away from the current, you might miss God’s best purposes.