Posts
I've flushed the negative attitude and my cold/allergies from my system. After a few rather ornery posts these last few weeks, I figured you deserved something a little peppier. {Not that I do 'peppy' all that often. Nix that. How about more inspirational?}
'Too Cute' baby sloths, puppies, kittens, and Kermit the Frog on a log singing The Rainbow Connection all came to mind. Images of sunshine and rainbows and floppy-eared bunnies would exemplify my improved attitude, right? Then I read a post by Joann Mannix on the Just Be Enough site and my focus drifted back to the real me.
Last year I posted How Vintage Nike Ads Kept Me Off Prozac. Nike's ad campaign, run over the last two decades, featured brilliant, timeless pieces of copy written not just to convince us to run to the nearest store and buy sneakers, but to empower us.
I've mentioned "JUST DO IT" covers much of my office, on sticky notes and bulletin boards, it's even on a Post-it note on my blog header (I'm not kidding — look up).
I was supposed to start editing my first draft two weeks ago. In his memoir on the craft of writing, Stephen King recommended burying a manuscript into a drawer for at least six weeks. So I did. I even gave it a few extra weeks for good luck. I let it rest, distanced myself from the words I knew inside and out, and gave it rot or bloom. I'm not yet sure which. Last week I began the process of reading it with fresh eyes, spotting the gaping holes, inconsistencies, and festering wounds I've created. Now I must learn how to repair them or slice them out with a surgeon's cool finesse.
Unexpected delays popped up, my work delayed — life got in the way. It's time for me to push my dreams and my manuscript up on my ladder of priorities. Enough with the excuses. Now is the time I must, I WILL, push all of life's clutter aside, hole up with my manuscript, and bring it to life. I will just do it.
