Hurry Up and Wait

I’m not fond of waiting. I believe most of my friends and family would agree that patience is not one of my innate talents. And it seems like writing is all about waiting. Right now, I’m waiting to hear back on two writing contests. I’m waiting for feedback on a story. I’m waiting to start writing my next book series. Because I wanted to wait less, I even switched editors on my current book. Which is why, when Kim gave me notes for editing my book a week ago, I’ve done next to nothing regarding my current book.

Ok, that’s not true. Let me back up a sec. My deliverables from Kim included a 2-hour Skype call which she recorded and provided to me, along with editorial notes on my book, a list of masterworks that I should consider reading, a copy of Pride and Prejudice: Story Grid Edition, a spreadsheet with my first five scenes broken down with the Story Grid methodology, various genre-specific cheat sheets, an in-depth dive into my first scene with Shawn Coyne’s Five Commandments of Story, and a list of next steps.

So far, I’ve read through and thought about Kim’s notes and suggestions. I’ve glanced at the spreadsheet. And, I’m currently reading one of the suggested masterworks; Shades of Grey (no not that book!) by Jasper Fforde, so it’s not like I’m doing nothing. And on the other hand, I’m doing everything but getting into the meat of editing my next book.

So…why? At first, it was because I convinced myself I needed the perfect setting in which to start. At home, I have distractions- pets, hobbies, friends, toys and all other manner of things that I can use as an excuse to do anything except what I should be doing. I started looking for writing retreats that I could travel to. I looked into writing workshops, writing cruises, then found myself trolling for the perfect solitary domicile (with WiFi of course) on Airbnb. And you know what? I found it. A place on a lake, nice, WiFi, not too far, totally within my price range, and not here (home). But I didn’t book it because I couldn’t find the perfect time to book it. I was looking for a four-day stretch on my calendar that would be the perfect amount of time to work on my book, in the perfect writing retreat. You connecting the dots too?

“The most dangerous way we sabotage ourselves is by waiting for the perfect moment to begin. Nothing works perfectly the first time, or the first fifty times. Everything has a learning curve. The beginning is just that – a beginning. Surrender your desire to do it flawlessly on the first try. It’s not possible. Learn to learn. Lear to fail. Learn to learn from failing. And begin today. Begin now. Stop waiting.”

-Vironika Tugaleva

Preach Ms. Tugaleva! If you read my last post, you know that the quest for perfection is pretty much a giant excuse to do nothing. So, no more waiting for, looking for, or striving for “perfect”. [bctt tweet=”Today, I stop waiting in my own self-imposed queue and I start from where I am.” username=”jamifairleigh”] I know that later, I’ll have to wait for others to finish my book, so why not work to the best of my ability today? And you know what? If I get into this heavy edit and find that I do actually need to get away to buckle down and get through it, I’ve already bookmarked a number of perfect places to work on Airbnb.

Have you had to remind yourself to start from where you are?