Last week, I teased that I would talk about my the process that I'm using to publish my serial novella, To Tread the Narrow Path.
Well, sorry to say, I lied. Or, maybe that is too strong of a phrase. I didn't lie, because last week I had every intention of publishing a post this week about the process that I'm going through to serialize my novella.
As luck, or my brain, would have it, I found myself coming back to thoughts on how I came to be where I am now, as compared to where I was a little over a year ago. With all that swimming around, I couldn't bring myself to write my original post (oh, don't you worry, we'll get to it eventually). Those that have read from my sporadic posting on my blog about fatherhood will recognize some elements from a couple (or three) of my post over there (specifically, this one, this one, and this one). So, if you've read any of those, or you want to do so now, I apologize if I tread some groud that we've already covered before.
To begin, I'd like to explain a bit about where I'm coming from. A little over a year ago, I was in a job that drained my mental energy. I loved the job itself, but there were other factors at work that were draining my resources, and the hours I worked did not allow me to recharge. Because of the pressure, I could not engage myself creatively. I would sit at my computer or with my notebook and try to squeeze out any little bit of story onto the screen/page, but I was in a rut, and it felt like it was more that writer's block. It felt like my well was running dry.
And, in a way, it was. I poured so much of myself into my job that other aspects of my life were faltering. Family, self, everything.
So, last year, around April, I found myself looking for a new job, but more than that, I found avenues in my mind clearing and rivers of creativity flowing again. Within a month after leaving my previous job, I had found a new one that allowed me to exercise just as much mental energy at work, but did not demand me to give myself to the job, heart and soul. As I relished in my newfound mental freedom, I found myself writing again. I was able to set goals and keep them. My family life improved as well, but you can read about that in the above links if you want.
As I looked at my future with my writing I began to set milestones for myself, increasing in difficulty and word count-
First- Publish a short story.
Second- Publish a novella.
Third- Publish a novel.
So I set about it and lo and behold, last year I was able to finish, polish, and publish Entertaining Angels. Then I set about taking a short story I had written and expanding it into the novella To Tread the Narrow Path. I made the decision to serialize it as a challenge to myself. At the moment, the novella is at its halfway point and I am excited at the direction it is going and the response to it. Once it is finished, I will begin writing primarily on my novel WIP, Lighthouse at the Edge of Forever. In the past year, I've been able to meet the goals I've set, and it's been an amazing feeling. For the first time, in a long time I'm accomplishing the goals that I'm setting for myself.
Well, sorry to say, I lied. Or, maybe that is too strong of a phrase. I didn't lie, because last week I had every intention of publishing a post this week about the process that I'm going through to serialize my novella.
As luck, or my brain, would have it, I found myself coming back to thoughts on how I came to be where I am now, as compared to where I was a little over a year ago. With all that swimming around, I couldn't bring myself to write my original post (oh, don't you worry, we'll get to it eventually). Those that have read from my sporadic posting on my blog about fatherhood will recognize some elements from a couple (or three) of my post over there (specifically, this one, this one, and this one). So, if you've read any of those, or you want to do so now, I apologize if I tread some groud that we've already covered before.
To begin, I'd like to explain a bit about where I'm coming from. A little over a year ago, I was in a job that drained my mental energy. I loved the job itself, but there were other factors at work that were draining my resources, and the hours I worked did not allow me to recharge. Because of the pressure, I could not engage myself creatively. I would sit at my computer or with my notebook and try to squeeze out any little bit of story onto the screen/page, but I was in a rut, and it felt like it was more that writer's block. It felt like my well was running dry.
And, in a way, it was. I poured so much of myself into my job that other aspects of my life were faltering. Family, self, everything.
So, last year, around April, I found myself looking for a new job, but more than that, I found avenues in my mind clearing and rivers of creativity flowing again. Within a month after leaving my previous job, I had found a new one that allowed me to exercise just as much mental energy at work, but did not demand me to give myself to the job, heart and soul. As I relished in my newfound mental freedom, I found myself writing again. I was able to set goals and keep them. My family life improved as well, but you can read about that in the above links if you want.
As I looked at my future with my writing I began to set milestones for myself, increasing in difficulty and word count-
First- Publish a short story.
Second- Publish a novella.
Third- Publish a novel.
So I set about it and lo and behold, last year I was able to finish, polish, and publish Entertaining Angels. Then I set about taking a short story I had written and expanding it into the novella To Tread the Narrow Path. I made the decision to serialize it as a challenge to myself. At the moment, the novella is at its halfway point and I am excited at the direction it is going and the response to it. Once it is finished, I will begin writing primarily on my novel WIP, Lighthouse at the Edge of Forever. In the past year, I've been able to meet the goals I've set, and it's been an amazing feeling. For the first time, in a long time I'm accomplishing the goals that I'm setting for myself.
The sad part of my story is that I let life and all the accoutrements that go along with it wash over the part of myself that I used to pursue my own interests. In retrospect (always 20/20), it wasn't necessarily the job. It was me. I stopped writing as I found myself getting lost in the pursuit of a job, a career.
One thing I should've kept myself doing was to just keep keep at it. Whatever life, job, ect, throws my way, I need to keep writing. I made the mistake of pushing aside the things in life that truly matter; I sacrificed myself and my family for the job. I traded the wheat for the chaff. During this time, in my life, I should have kept putting words down, continued capturing my stories. Instead, I let that part of myself get lost.
Thankfully, I've found myself again. I've repaired the parts of my life that were broken, and I'm writing. I'm writing more now than ever before. I've learned that whatever the messed up parts of my life are (job, family, writing...), I've got to make the changes for the better, and keep writing, because that's when the world's makes the most sense.
I need to just keep writing.
My advice to anyone reading, the one takeaway I would want to impart is this:
Whatever you do to express yourself creatively, just keep doing it. When life threatens to overwhelm and take your outlet away, just keep at it. You will find that the longer you stop, the harder it will be to regain it. Make sure you always give your time and energy to the important things in your life. It may sound cliche or trite or obvious, but sometimes you get caught up in the midst of things and forget what's really important. Don't lose sight of the things you value in life, the things that make you, you. Don't give up.
Just keep writing.
Just keep writing.
If you want to read more about my personal journey, and how all of this is applied in the fatherhood arena of my life, I would encourage you to check out the links I posted at the top.
Thanks for reading, and as always, if you've enjoyed please take the time to like, share, +1, etc...
Until next time,
-Anthony
One thing I should've kept myself doing was to just keep keep at it. Whatever life, job, ect, throws my way, I need to keep writing. I made the mistake of pushing aside the things in life that truly matter; I sacrificed myself and my family for the job. I traded the wheat for the chaff. During this time, in my life, I should have kept putting words down, continued capturing my stories. Instead, I let that part of myself get lost.
Thankfully, I've found myself again. I've repaired the parts of my life that were broken, and I'm writing. I'm writing more now than ever before. I've learned that whatever the messed up parts of my life are (job, family, writing...), I've got to make the changes for the better, and keep writing, because that's when the world's makes the most sense.
I need to just keep writing.
My advice to anyone reading, the one takeaway I would want to impart is this:
Whatever you do to express yourself creatively, just keep doing it. When life threatens to overwhelm and take your outlet away, just keep at it. You will find that the longer you stop, the harder it will be to regain it. Make sure you always give your time and energy to the important things in your life. It may sound cliche or trite or obvious, but sometimes you get caught up in the midst of things and forget what's really important. Don't lose sight of the things you value in life, the things that make you, you. Don't give up.
Just keep writing.
Just keep writing.
 |
| Listen to Dory, she knows what she's talking about... |
If you want to read more about my personal journey, and how all of this is applied in the fatherhood arena of my life, I would encourage you to check out the links I posted at the top.
Thanks for reading, and as always, if you've enjoyed please take the time to like, share, +1, etc...
Until next time,
-Anthony
Comments
Post a Comment