Saturday, April 30, 2011

Where you plunk yourself matters

It is warm, breezy and sunny, the perfect recipe for me to sit outdoors and read. Today I bought myself a new office chair, padded better than my mattress, heavy duty, and it rocks. Literally, I can rock. It is exactly what I do when I am thinking. If I'm in public, I only move my foot, but when my brain is going, so is some other part of my body. This chair fits my contour, well, let's be honest, my wide behind. I am so happy.

After a month of rain and the longest Midwest winter, I have been dragging. Lately the only thing I've been moving is my foot, kicking my own butt for only sending out seven submissions this month. I told myself I was overworked at school, depressed because I lost formatting on my manuscript, received three rejections, and one thing after another has gone wrong with this computer. We are this close to getting another one.

Anyway, today I am warmed inside and out by the delightful weather and a message from someone who's advice was hinged on the bottom of her foot too. She gave me a swift kick, which I needed. I am back on track like The Little Engine That Could ... choo-choo! I'm in a comfortable chair and I am in my comfort zone. Sure there will be hills to climb and obstacles to cross, but I can do it.

I am a positive thinker, but negative messages fill my head at times. "I'll take a little break, a hiatus. I don't have time for Book Blurb Friday. Oops, I missed that deadline. The contracts aren't pouring in like in the past; it must be ME. I'll get back to serious writing in May." So much hooey.

If you are filling your own head with this stuff, stop! Pop some chocolate in your mouth, tell yourself what a great writer you are and get in gear. Write on and write from your heart.

13 comments:

Val said...

Well, you have fulfilled my first impression: Linda ROCKS! Congratulations on your new office chair.

Thanks for the advice. I don't mean to brag, but I am a world-class procrastinator. Maybe that chocolate can be my carrot-on-a-stick.

Kim Lehnhoff said...

Thanks for the verbal kick in the butt. I think I may need an actual kick in the butt to get moving.

I don't know why I don't take this writing thing seriously, other than laziness.

Unknown said...

I have been on that same roller coaster ride and my blog family is quick to help me recover and get back on track. I think May will be an awesome month for you. Have a great rest of the weekend.
Odie :)

Southhamsdarling said...

Congratulations on your new chair. There should be no stopping you now!! I am certainly guilty of putting things off , as you talk about in your post today. It's always, "I'll do it tomorrow" and then I find that another week has gone by and it's still not been done! This is NOT GOOD!! So! I will pop some chocolate into my mouth and get myself into gear!

Claudia Moser said...

Write on and write from your heart - that says it all! :)

Susan said...

Congratulations on your new chair, Linda. What is your monthly article submission goal? You said "only" seven. Wow! How many do you try to send out? Just curious. I say, "Good for you." Susan

Donna Volkenannt said...

Seven submissions in one month? That's impressive!
Donna

Linda O'Connell said...

Hi all,
Thanks for your visit! I try to get at least ten things out there, sometimes fifteen when I'm on a roll, but the markets seem to be drying up and that is rather depressing. I spend a lot of time searching the markets, which can get time consuming.

Bookie said...

Your advice is very timely for me, LInda! Yes, market hunting itself takes time and commitment...then there is fitting the piece and the market once you have found them!!!

Cattis said...

Sun, a good chair and chocolate sounds like a really good start. Perhaps one should listen to your advice because it's so true.

Debora said...

This week I did some 1-minute timed readings with a couple of struggling 6th graders. They'd been trying to reach a goal of around 100 words per minute for the past several months. So I told them the story of the Little Engine that Could. I made them say "I think I can, I think, I can" before the readings. One went from 48 words/min to 90. The other beat her goal after 7 months of struggling! Coincidence...I think not!

Tammy said...

Linda, you rock. Figuratively as well as literally!

Lynn said...

I can so relate, but sometimes I think we need that "rest" period - to fill up the well so to speak. The rhythm of life. Sounds like you're too hard on yourself! Only seven this month? Good grief. That's more than I've sent in a year!