Enjoying the Journey (repost)

Since my family has decided that the new year is the perfect time to break down and get sick, I'm reposting one of my favorite posts from last year.  I hope you still enjoy it.

I’ve been scratching my head for over a week as I tried to come up with a topic for today’s post. On top of that I’ve been rushing to finish my latest WIP so I can get to another that’s been pulling at me.  In fact, I’m writing this at almost midnight because the inspiration didn’t come until I watched GLEE. ( Yes, I’m a Gleek and I’m proud of it. :) )  Anyway, to make a long story short, in last night’s episode, the lesson was to enjoy the journey.  It didn’t matter if they won or lost their competition—though a lot was riding on their winning their regional competition.  All that mattered was the fact they were doing something they enjoyed.

It got me thinking.  Here I was stressing over the fact I haven’t gotten a publishing offer yet, when I should have been happy with how far I’d come.

I think that the lesson the kids learned not only applies to the show, but in real life too.  And especially for us writers.  Almost every writer’s goal is to be published.  More than likely we want to make the best seller’s list.  We focus so much on what’s at the end of that road, we never stop and smell the proverbial roses.

We rush to get through our WIPs and then hope our beta readers and critique partners will get our MSs back to us quickly so we can edit as quick as we can to send off to agents and editors. 

We critique other writers’s work and read already published books, digesting and dissecting them bit-by-bit to see what we can do to improve our own writing, but we never just enjoy them anymore. 

But why did we start writing?  For most of us it wasn’t because we wanted fame and fortune.  Maybe it was there in the back of our mind, but it wasn’t the sole reason and it wasn’t the biggest. 

It was because we enjoyed it.

We wrote to relieve stress or boredom.  To breath life into the characters we saw in our heads, and having people read and enjoy it was just icing on the cake. 

So no matter where you are along the publishing voyage, whether you’re writing your first word or your millionth, relax.  Slow down.  Take a deep breath.  It’s not a race to get to the next step.  Or the next.  Or the one after that. 

It’s simply a matter of enjoying the journey.  

The Climb by Miley Cyrus courtesy of Hollywood Records and youtube.com.  As always we ask that you respect the artists and download their music on approved sites.

Tuesday Trailer - Timeless by Alexandra Monir

You asked, we answered.

Instead of having Tuesday Tunes every week, we're going to also bring you trailers or books we think should be in your TBR (to be read) pile.  This week, I'll share a book trailer for debut author Alexandra Monir's January 11th release: Timeless.

Oh, squee!  Sounds and looks so good, and it's only a few days away from release.

And now that I'm all ready to sink my teeth into something romantic, let me tell you about our first annual That's YAmore Blogfest.  Leading up to Valentine's Day, next month we'll be hosting a blogfest featuring romantic snippets from your WIP.  For more details, check out our That's YAmore Blogfest Page and sign up.  We can't wait to read your first kisses and tender moments as can only be told by brilliant YA authors like yourselves.

Be sure to grab our badge and spread the word.  The more, the merrier!

Sanctuary?

Mondays are Sanctuary days here at the Oasis, and after a two-week hiatus from the kids going to school and the hubby schlepping off to work, you'd think I'd have a lot to talk about. I really wish I did. I'm sitting here after a crappy night's sleep, with a horrid headache, arthritis flaring in my shoulder, and feel like I'm spiraling down some flight to nowhere. I should be opening files, brewing coffee instead of wondering where I'm going to find some sanctuary.

I could read, but gut instincts tell me to write.
I could write, but the headache tells me to nap.
I could try to nap, but that never works out for me.

Right now, when I'm normally still sleeping, I'm spiraling through the Internet. Thanks to following Anica Rissi on Twitter, I did follow a link to a good blog post on Elana Johnson's blog about editing/revising and that OMG I can't do that! moment. Thank you, Twitter! Maybe there's an ascent coming today, and I'll find sanctuary after all.

So, my friends, on a conflicted day like I'm having today, what do YOU do to find sanctuary?