Sometimes we don’t pay attention to the details until something big happens. Or if our attention is drawn elsewhere. Or if we have our gaze on the end goal and not on the journey. This week, I’ve found many instances where the details matter more than the big picture.
It’s August here in the Southwest. summer is my very least favorite time of the year because there are too many days (and nights) where the temperatures equal the surface of the sun. I used to say that only cactus and lizards can adapt. But in the last couple of years, saguaros have been dying because the heat is too intense for too long. With Holly, I pay attention to how much shade she has in her stall, how much water she’s been drinking, if she’s standing in front of her fan, and how she feels after a bath in the afternoon. I do my best to pay attention to and provide details for her to help her through this time of year.
I’ve let myself imagine publishing the anthology before the end of the year. In looking back at the details, I could see an issue building. I wasn’t sure how to address it, and I’m still not convinced I have the right words to make everything come together. We have edited stories, but not all the writers are satisfied with those edits. We need communication, and that has been challenging. Details I could have, perhaps, attended to before now.
When I begin a writing project, I don’t usually have a picture in my mind of the finished product. Yes, it will be a book, but I don’t know how many words, or what the cover will look like, or what quirky hitch will keep the whole process from going smoothly (believe me, every single project I’ve done has had some kind of quirky hitch, and no two are the same… where would the fun be in that?). I have this starting energy (which I mentioned last week), but I also recognize the procrastination that pulls up a chair next to my writing desk. I’m shuffling through files, organizing projects I’ve started. Procrastination tells me that if I have the details set out before I begin (I never plot, but I like to have a new spiral, read what I have so far, etc.) then the writing will flow. I’ve been doing this long enough that I know I’m delaying getting down to the work. I may imagine the project finished, but to get there, I need to be with the details of consistently putting words on paper.
We’ve heard that life is about the little things, the details that make up daily life. If we don’t pay attention to those little things, we miss the important stuff. I’m going to continue to focus on the details, since they make the journey worthwhile.
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