Detours and Roadblocks in Your Writing Life
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I drive the back roads through southside Richmond to my day gig in the mornings instead of taking the toll roads. This week, unexpectedly, I hit a roadblock when a downed light pole blocked the main road. I’m familiar with the way that I always get to work, but I was on my own in the dark yesterday in a neighborhood that I wasn’t familiar with (at 6:30 AM). (And if you’ve ever been to RVA, you’ll know that the streets often do not run parallel. They tend to meander.) With the help of GPS, I was able to navigate neighborhood streets and get back on my path.
Our writing life is often like that. We hit roadblocks and detours. It’s inevitable, but I believe you will be more successful along your journey if you can react and navigate around them.
A lot of it is attitude. If you hit a disappointment or a pitfall, allow yourself some time to react. Scream, cry, mope, or eat chocolate for a little while. But then figure out how you are going to get around the obstacle. Sulking doesn’t fix the problem. Bad reviews, cancelled contracts, and rejection letters hurt. You can give up, or you can make a new plan.
Always have a plan B. It’s helpful to have a strategy for what you’re going to do if you hit an obstacle. It’s often easier to deal with if you know you have a backup plan.
Get organized. Keep your files straight (and backed up). Know where you put things. If you cut down on the clutter and the junk, and you can work efficiently, you’ll minimize some of your self-made roadblocks.
If you mess up, own it, apologize, and do your best to fix it.
Other people are going to disappoint you. They’re going to back out of commitments, forget to do things they promised, or say mean things. You need to decide what and who you’re going to spend your time on or with. Figure out what is important to you, and let go of what brings you down.
Make sure you take care of you. Eat right and exercise. You need to have a balanced life. Make sure you have some fun. And hang around people who make you laugh. My day gig is in IT, and it’s often serious. I love that the new PMO manager moved in the office next to me. She is fun, and she laughs a lot. (The crew nicknamed her Giggles.) I love that I can hear the laughter through the walls. It always makes me smile.
It’s almost a new year. And that’s always a great time to make resolutions or plans. I challenge you to make a plan for your writing life in 2020. It’s a new year and a new decade.
