May 23, 2014 Seeking help from others

Yesterday, I was, once again, struggling with the fact that I'm not progressing faster with my writing, so I did what I often do when I'm stumped:  I did a Tarot spread asking "what do I need to know about my writing that I'm not aware of?"  The cards I drew added up to a fairly powerful reading, with four Majors and two Queens out of the ten cards I drew.  Something prompted me, after doing my own analysis, to throw it out to the members of a Tarot group I belong to on Facebook, and several people who are both more proficient at reading and more objective, were kind enough to share their insight. 

All I can say is WOW!!!  A couple of them really nailed it, and it wasn't quite what I'd expected.  As soon as I read their posts, I just knew they were right one.  First, let me share the cards I pulled, for those who are familiar with Tarot.  I used my usual Spiral deck for this:

Card 1:  The Hermit  (9)

Card 2:  The Magician     (1)

Card 3:  The Hanged Man  (12)

Card 4:  Two of Wands

Card 5:  Three of Wands

Card 6:  Strength  (8)

Card 7:  Queen of Pentacles

Card 8:  The Devil  (15)

Card 9:  Three of Pentacles

Card 10:  Queen of Swords

I put the card numbers next to the Majors so I could get a better idea of the numbers I pulled, and to see if there was any pattern.  Here are a couple of the comments I received.

the Hanged Man indicates that while you feel you have hit a snag or have been suspended, you should try looking at everything around you from a different angle, rather than panicking or complaining that you are upside down. if you take some time to adopt the new perspective, you might have a truly inspirational gem worth writing about on your hands

On just a surface scan, I would say that you are trying to "conceive" a child that has already been conceived; you are too clever for your own good. You are, probably subconsciously, giving off an "air" of abracadabra-ism that isn't necessary. You've got a dynamite line-up of talent and strength, now take YOURSELF in hand, give over being "magical" about it, and ease into the awaiting miracle of birth

You have good ability but may need stronger editing and have to overcome some negativity and delays or distractions in your environment. But there is some good material there for you as well:). You are an able researcher and one of your writing talents is the ability to combine dramatic feeling with a certain type of cerebral restraint and analysis...

While all of these, I believe, hit the mark to some degree, it was the next one which truly knocked my socks off!  

I agree with...  and that most writers tend to create distractions and these keep the writers from writing, it goes with the territory. The Hermit is not the answer, it is the question, why have you taken yourself away from the writing? That is what a Hermit does, removes self from the material world. You have all the tools to create your magic and the Devil card keeps you from it, the material world of distractions. The Queen of Swords can provide you with structure, create a set time to write, be it 1 hour a day or 3 hours 5 days a week, up to you. We just had this in a thread here, the stagnation of writing and the consensus like the novelist Stephen King said..you must create a writing schedule and not be a writer who is only called to write if they are inspired, write daily, create the time frame, turn off your phone, close the door and write. If you stare at the paper or screen, then stare, read a book in your writing seat, but do not do the laundry or anything but write or read.

I have omitted all names as I'm not sure that these very insightful people would like their names included in some random blog (some, if not all, are Tarot professionals).  With their permission, I may, however, give them credit at some later date.

Now, admittedly, I do write almost every day, by virtue of my blog postings, but that isn't getting the book finished!  I totally agree with the fact that I have, in some ways, taken myself away from the writing.  Even more, I think I know why.

I have another To Do list which contains things I need to do before I even consider publishing my book, and I believe that I've allowed myself to get bogged down in that list rather than focusing on the writing.  Yes, the things on the list will come together in time, but by putting energy into that list, I'm throwing up a roadblock to the consistent efforts needed to just finish the thing I will be marketing.

I'll go back to my favorite example, decluttering.  When you have a room that is filled with stuff that needs to be sorted out and either trashed, donated or put in its proper place, beginning the task can be quite overwhelming as long as you look at the whole room as a single project.  But if you break it down into small spaces, it suddenly becomes manageable.  "Sure I can handle this two square foot area!  And once it's done, I'll see a clear space which will inspire me to take on another two square foot space!"

I think, for now, I need to put the To Do list aside as it is too large a chunk to manage.  Following the last poster's advice and setting aside time to just write every day will whittle away at the task still before me:  completing the initial edit of the book!  Despite the fact that editing is at the top of my weekly to do list, I have yet to get more than two check marks per week on that item.  It's time to raise the bar and reach the point where I have enough check marks to cross that puppy off the list for the week!

The sad part is, I am actually more than halfway through the book now, having recently completed 149 pages of 274 and edited 28 chapters.   This would sound a lot more amazing if I hadn't finished the first draft in January, and it is now May. 

I have tried the 30 minute timer method and found it incredibly effective (I have yet to work for less than an hour using this method), but now I need to work on consistency.  In fact, I should be able to do at least three or four sessions a day using this method, and at about a chapter a session, finish this puppy off in the next couple of weeks! 

I realize now that my editing process is only the beginning, and while I am sending my baby out for the input of others, is the time to work through the rest of the To Do list for the launching of the book.  This is typical of my tendency to try to keep too many balls in the air.  So, for now, the only ball I'm going to keep tossing is the editing of the danged book!

I am sooooo grateful to all of the people who have been put into my life to help me both get on track and stay there.  Also to those who helped me to take the leap of faith and actually go into this project without a long-term safety net.  Overall, I have to say that my life has improved in ways I never expected!

My gratitudes today are:
1. I am grateful for people with unique perspectives.
2. I am grateful for my exposure to new ideas and points of view.
3. I am grateful for the cha cha, as I take two steps forward and one back.  Progress is still progress!
4. I am grateful for the luxury of working from home each and every day, and of interacting with people only when I want to.
5. I am grateful for the very positive diagnosis which will allow me to have Dylan's hyperthyroidism cured, once and for all!  No more pills with potential side effects for my sweet man!

Love and light