Sunday, November 4, 2007

I'm not a machine, and there's nothing wrong with that

Or, so a friend of mine recently told me. I'm currently working on a new book. I started three days ago, and I've already written 47 pages. Can you believe I think I need to write more tonight? I'm not saying any of that to brag. I'm illustrating a point. I expect too much of myself.

The thing is, this is all I've ever wanted to do with my life, and I want to succeed with all of my heart. But, as someone else told me, that doesn't mean I have to give all of my soul. But it does really. To me at least. Sure, your book (or books) is a product, and I do see it as such. But it is also a part of you.

No artist has ever turned out a masterpiece that didn't have some part of themselves in the finished product. So I guess in a way, I am giving a part of my soul when I write.

I believe that you get what you expect out of life, and I expect great things. But I also believe in hard work and earning your place in life. So, to put it mildly, I'm kicking my ass on a daily basis to be in the right places, make the right connections, and get the job done so that I can move on to the next thing on my list.

However, as my friend's words helped to point out ... I'm nowhere on that list. The point of this somewhat mild rant is to let other writers out there know that it's okay to take a break. It's okay to go to bed early some nights, even though you could use the time to write. Your work will be fresher when your brain has had some down time:) And writing in your pjs doesn't count as rest. LOL I've done that too and still do. It's not exactly the same thing. You CAN let your email go for one day, every now and then. You CAN resist the urge to check all of your messages on every account/blog/myspace page, or whatever else you may have.

My point is this: The world won't stop for you to catch up. However, it won't leave you behind if you get a good night's sleep.

Goodnight:)

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