We walk around and rearrange things just so, stack these over here instead of over there, hang something on the wall and scrutinize it for the thousandth time, or, for those of us who work at our desks, maybe pay some bills...or write a blog. Very helpful stuff.
Still, there's a fine line between getting ready to work and postponing the inevitable. The personal dance that marks the start of our creative time is magical, intimate, and unique to each of us. And we each have a tipping point: One moment we're psyching ourselves up, the next moment we're procrastinating. Knowing our own special moment to stop fussing and get down to it is one sign of maturity in an artist.
My one and only job this morning is to get Chapter One ready to enter a contest. I'm excited, scared (it's my first writing competition), and generally overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do on my entry.
Last year at this time, I thought my manuscript was ready for submission to anyone, anywhere. Then I joined a critique group of specialists in my story's genre. God love them, they put Chapter One back on the front burner and handed me a lesson in humility.
This first chapter has a slight structural problem that I've been pondering for weeks, along with some protagonist issues that affect the mood of the entire story. These are not small obstacles and I really don't know where to start, which is why I'm still polishing Chapter One two short days before the contest deadline.
And still dusting the studio.
But because I think I know when to dance and when to stop, I'll leave you with this: Dust away to your heart's content, and then get to work.
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2 comments:
Your first contest? Cool! I'm entering the Phoenix Rattler Writing Competition under the Fantasy category. I finally re-wrote my ten pages today and printed out the hard copy to go over with a pack of highlighters and a red pen. Tomorrow I'll make my last edit and send it off. Boy, waiting until the last minute is stressful! Good luck! =)
Hey, Chris. I'm entering the Phoenix Rattler contest, too, under YA. What a great opportunity for pre-published authors! I've been writing and rewriting that blasted first chapter for two days. But you know what? Now I love it. Here's wishing you the best. See you in Arizona. :-)
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