This has been a rough week. We just got back from a week-long trip to Seattle, and recovery has been hard in a variety of ways (like the 3-hour time difference each way, and the 6-hour flight there and back.)
Even so, I’ve been excited to get back to writing. I wrote some in Seattle, but there’s nothing like being home, at my desk, in my office, doing work I love.
First day back, I opened Steeped in Gossip, the book that’s finished, to incorporate some feedback I got from my coach. I immediately felt a wall come up. It was weird, but it was there, and the more I read, the more I thought, “This is the dumbest book anyone has ever written in the history of the world.” I absolutely hated it. Every. Word.
Over the next several days I tried again to get started, always with the same result – nothing read well, nothing landed like I wanted it to, I couldn’t write good prose or conversations to save my life. I argued (in my mind) with every bit of feedback I got, tried a few things, messed a few things up, and generally just got more and more discouraged, thinking, “Why do I even think I can do this?”
Poor me, right?
Then today, I read an article titled “The Carrot and the Stick” by Tiffany Yates Martin at FoxPrint Editorial. You should absolutely check her out if you’re a writer – she ‘s pretty amazing. The article is long, but worth it. Anyway, I realized I’d been using the stick on myself quite a lot this week, and I need to stop it. I need to come up with some carrots.
I don’t yet know how I’ll do this. For sure I’ll get up and walk away, or “change the channel in my head” when those thoughts start creeping back in.
But for now, I’ll plug away, knowing the ‘stick’ just creates bad habits.
The ‘carrot’ is the place to be.
Hmm. Could be a recipe for a pretty good life, overall, wouldn’t you agree?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you ever beat yourself up with that stick? And when you do (because I think we all do on occasion) what’s your favorite carrot? How do you lift yourself up?
I’ll sign off now. Happy Writing! And keep those sticks in the closet where they belong. I’ll do the same.