Thankfully, you can’t see me. I’m dancing shamelessly to Beyonce’s “Run The World Girls.” I did it. My first draft of “The Land of Lost Dreams” is finished. I guess you could say I’m pleased with myself because the smile I’m wearing rivals Alice’s Cheshire cat.
The road to glory wasn’t easy. It was mined with booby traps and roadblocks. Created mostly by me, a little from life and some from friends. Yes, those little grey cells are a wondrous thing, but can be highly treacherous. They love to play games with the intention of tricking you out of grabbing the gold. Believe me, I know. I didn’t always know that was happening. But, somewhere along the line I tripped over one of those mind traps and realized I had been there before. When you uncover what’s holding you back it’s like coming out from your safe hiding place under the blankets to a brand new world.
So, this month long boot camp was not just about finishing a first draft but a personal challenge. It was like fire walking. Not that I have, but the thought of facing a bed of hot coals scares the breath out of me. Fear can do that. It squeezes the life you were meant to have and leaves you empty. Fear looked me in the face and asked “Are you up for this? Are you good enough?” and on and on it went.
It takes courage to create because you must battle with a force greater than the Dark Lord, yourself. The courage to create is also an affirmation of life. Yours.
A writer in my Fantasy writing group lives in Japan. After the terrible quake her affirmation of life was to build a potted vegetable garden on her balcony. By that simple act, she tapped into her deepest inner strength to state to the universe, “I will survive and prosper.” How awesome is that?
Life is always testing you by putting up brick walls and roadblocks. How you respond to the challenge placed before you defines who you are. This time I came to do battle with my sword in one hand and pen in the other against fear.
Till next time,
Elizabeth
6 comments:
Congrats on finishing your draft! I was told once that we rarely fear failure, but that we fear success. Therefore, we often get in our own way, whether we realize it or not. So true.
Congratulations on completing your novel! I don't know if this your first or tenth, since I don't know you (I followed Stacie Carver over to this blog), but regardless, I know what a great feeling it is when you finish.
Consider me dancing with you!
Woo hoo! Congratulations on finishing your first draft! What a wonderful feeling :) *pom pom swish* It takes a lot of courage to share with others what we create - and courage to do it over and over again. :)
Ann Cory
Sarah,
Thank you! You are absolutely right, we do get in our way even when it's in our best interest. What we need is an alarm system to wake us up!
Thanks for stopping by and hope you're having a great holiday weekend.
Elizabeth
Stacie,
Thank you! It is a great feeling to have completed this first draft. BTW, I like your style of dancing!!!!
Elizabeth
Ann,
Thank you! It truly is a wonderful feeling to be able to share with other what you have created. Aren't we all lucky to be creatures that are able to do that?
Elizabeth
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