For someone who (mostly) easily switches thought processes and tasks, I’ve found myself in a reflection—search—grounding pattern this past week. A friend said, “You just finished a major project. Give yourself some time to enjoy your accomplishment.” Yes. Right. Celebration. Something I don’t do often. Same with rest. It hasn’t escaped me that I’ve been exhausted for a while, but I’ve always just pushed through to the next thing. But when the next thing, whichever writing project I pulled from the top of the stack, was met with zero motivation or interest, I took a step back.
I don’t review the books I’ve published unless I’m doing an update on the front or back matter. And I haven’t done one of those in a few years. But taking a minute to review the 50 titles I’ve written and published, the marketing activities I’ve done over the years, the authors and readers I’ve met, and the (literally) countless hours and tasks I’ve done behind the scenes, I see what I’ve accomplished. I reviewed my writing process and the different phases I’ve gone through and people with whom I’ve walked alongside for a little while. I’m reminded I’ve built a solid foundation with my craft.
Feeling a bit out of touch with my writing, and life as a whole (probably has nothing to do with current events…), I searched in my file folder on mind set and online for ways to move forward. In a time of uncertainty (similar to other times in my personal history), I looked for nuggets of inspiration, a statement or question that would show me where the next stepping stone on my writing journey was placed. Because I’m an analog gal at heart, I printed out information, then read and underlined what resonated. I can return to this later to verify that I’ve used what I thought at this time as important.
I’m 95% of the way there. I feel more grounded than I have in a couple of months. I know where I’ve been, and I have some idea where I want to go. I’m focusing on the present moment and the way forward. Much of the fuzziness in my thoughts regarding my writing has dissipated. Tomorrow I get to meet with other authors and do some prompt writing. I’m always grateful that my movie screen works for those 15 minutes of scratching out a setting, characters, and conflict. Then I’ll sift through my spirals, my story starters, my list of series that remain unfinished, and put together a queue. I also plan to do some resting. Perhaps this lagging exhaustion will ease, making more room for stories.
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