Checking the Map
April 20, 2000
7:39 a.m.
"Are you writing?" Lisa asked. "Yeah. Little snippets here and there." I drove on. Lisa sat in the passenger seat. Brigid was in the back. We were on our way to the library to drop off books I had checked out, and get some for Brigid (she's recently taken an interest in falconry). I've spent the past three days at work standing up and instructing a course on Project Management. My legs hurt and my brain was in that gray zone where serious thought can only lodge there for so long before whatever else happens along pushes it out. "It's been hard recently," I said. "You've had a cold." Lisa's voice was hopeful. "Then we went to the Farm for the weekend, and then I had the course to instruct." "Those always take so much out of you." I nodded. "This one in particular because the second instructor was sick, so I took an extra half hour each morning to review what her part was so I could do it." Lisa was quiet. Cars zipped past going the other way. "But, I've still managed to get my thoughts together for the "Taranth Stone" sequel. And I've got a few words on paper." "That's good," she said. And it is. I judge myself by what direction I'm heading, not necessarily the speed at which I'm traveling. It says it right on my personal mission statement (yeah, yeah, yeah...). Sometimes I forget, though. It's so easy to forget, to get caught up in the moment. I was ready to write this story about this time last week, and here I am a week later, ruining my reputation as a fast writer and all that. I keep thinking that I've delayed it and delayed it, and that just bugs the holy bejeebies out of me--that's how I am, you know? Just do it, and all that. But looking at it through eyes that see things for how they really are ... or at least closer to how they really are ... I've not delayed. I've made progress almost every day. A few words here, a few there. Reading material to get greater understanding, and just as important, reading material to get into the right frame of mind ... to keep that itch going. It's all progress. It's all important. And in the end, it will all make the story better.   Got about a thousand words today.  If you're not moving, how can you tell if you're heading in the right direction? Daily Persistence is © Ron Collins |
|
BACK TO 
|