The Long Wait

Why is that everything I see, hear or smell gets me thinking about my MS? A story on the news makes me ponder a new plot. A song on the radio creates a scene in my head. I was born to write. I really believe that. I wrote songs and poems when I was a kid. I have long made my own greeting cards. I just don't have trouble getting the words from my brain to paper (or laptop). When I found out what blogging was, I was delighted to join in.

Even though I find much enjoyment in these things, my real dream is to be a published author... Not just published, but actually making my living at it. A career. I didn't want to be able to tell people I wrote a book. I want to someday say, "I write books!"

I am not as happy with my progress as I could be; I get side-tracked too often. (I spent my writing time this weekend twiddling with baby shower stuff.) I am determined to make a bigger push toward my goal. After all, I'm not getting any younger!

...but it does take time. I think that instant gratification spoils some things. I see that in the younger generation. They don't wait for things the way we did. The waiting is an important part. It's the part that pushes our dream to the mountain peak. Without the wait, it's just something we want, we get, we move on...

The wait. As with anything else in life, the longer we want it, the greater the reward. Didn't someone famous once say something like, "The harder we have to fight for it, the greater...." We appreciate it more. We savor the accomplishment.

I'm sitting here, reading through my morning e-mails, and I came across this devotional:


"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
- Proverbs 13:12

Wisdom for Writing

While reading my morning mail, I came across this in my daily devotional message from the Presidential Prayer Team:

"One definition for wisdom is “the skill of navigating toward a goal with precision.”" Even though the message was pointed to the leadership of this country, I quickly associated it with my writing practices.

Am I using wisdom with my writing? I'm not speaking of the text of my novel, but rather my own personal habits regarding when and how I write. To answer my own question, no; I do not navigate toward the goal with precision. The goal of course being FINISH the book!

Do I possess the skill or wisdom? Yes, I believe I have the skill to push ahead on schedule. The bigger question is, why don't I employ the skill? Hmm... Good question.

I am, by nature, a procrastinator. I've just never been a hurry-up-and-get-it-done type of person. Don't get me wrong. I'm never late! I never turned in assignments late. I've always been punctual with my work. One of my favorite examples concerns my best friend's wedding gown. I made it for her. I remember her coming over the day before the wedding asking about the dress. I calmly told her, it was almost done; all I had left was the sleeves and the hem. Yes, the dress was finished in plenty of time. She would have preferred a little wiggle room on the time-line. We laugh about it now, but seriously, if she had told me to have it ready a week before... it would have been ready a week before. Not eight days, mind you, but a week.

The problem with my book is that I don't have a due date. I just realized this! If I had a written-in-stone date that I had to meet, I'd meet it. I don't have a set number of hours per day designated for writing my book. If I did, I would fit it in. See, I have the knowledge. I know what's wrong with my habits and what I have to do to change it. I guess the wisdom part comes in when I decide to do what I know.

Are you using wisdom in your writing habits? Do you have a clear goal you are pursuing?