In my last post I complained that I no longer wanted to be a novelist, that it was just too hard. Immediately following that post I wrote, with astonishing ease, an entire scene I'd been struggling for days to even begin. Perhaps I just needed to gripe a little, to blow off steam.
Barabara Sher describes that phenomenon in her book Wishcraft. It's been a decade since I read it, but, if I recall correctly, she holds the view that to be successful a person needs to be allowed to complain at times, to be honest about how they feel, basically to whine. A little. And then let it go and move on.
Telling myself that things are 'fine' when I feel otherwise isn't healthy. On the other hand, constantly focusing on what is wrong would be just as foolish. I suspect balance is the key: acknowledging the truth of how I feel at any given moment, but not wallowing too long in it. Unless of course the feeling is joy, love, pleasure, etc. Those I plan to wallow in quite thoroughly.
Something that's helping me write today: a small space heater in my office ($20) that makes the room the cozy temperature I prefer without running up the electric bill or causing my polar bear husband to overheat in his office on the other side of the house.
Barabara Sher describes that phenomenon in her book Wishcraft. It's been a decade since I read it, but, if I recall correctly, she holds the view that to be successful a person needs to be allowed to complain at times, to be honest about how they feel, basically to whine. A little. And then let it go and move on.
Telling myself that things are 'fine' when I feel otherwise isn't healthy. On the other hand, constantly focusing on what is wrong would be just as foolish. I suspect balance is the key: acknowledging the truth of how I feel at any given moment, but not wallowing too long in it. Unless of course the feeling is joy, love, pleasure, etc. Those I plan to wallow in quite thoroughly.
Something that's helping me write today: a small space heater in my office ($20) that makes the room the cozy temperature I prefer without running up the electric bill or causing my polar bear husband to overheat in his office on the other side of the house.
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