One Little Elephant

Lent ends today. Time to take inventory (and fess up). Here's how it went:

Eschewing TV

This was difficult at first, but grew progressively easier. By week three I'd forgotten about TV as better things filled the void. I regret the evenings wasted on that silly box in the past, but since I don't feel even a wisp of anticipation that I'll soon be free to watch it again, I'm hopeful Lent has triumphed over this vice.

Surrendering the Dr. Pepper

This was hard, hard, hard from the beginning. Did it get easier? NO!!!! But I stood wobbly-kneed against temptation. Lent ends today and I wish I could say it conquered this vice, but the fact that my insides are wriggling with puppyish joy at the thought of a Dr. Pepper tells me it's not so. Still, there was value in this Lenten abstinence because it made me acknowledge my human weakness and my need for God's strength.

Relinquishing daytime web surfing and email checking

This was at once a great failure and a tremendous success. Failure because I broke this Lenten promise on repeated occasions.

Sometimes I broke it for valid reasons like finding the one pharmacy in town that could fill hubby's prescription when he was very ill or turning in an application for a large scholarship my son only learned he was eligible for on the last day he could apply(he got it!).

Sometimes I broke it when habit intersected with carelessness. If I didn't throw the internet cord over the curtain rod there was a good chance that when I took a break from writing I'd access the internet simply from habit. I'd be surfing before I realized it. This taught me that changing bad habits requires more than good intentions. It also requires altering my environment.

And finally, sometimes I failed to keep this Lenten promise out of simple sinfulness.

Yet despite those failures, I also had tremendous success. I realized the internet is not nearly as entertaining as reading a good book on my shady front porch. It's not nearly as satisfying as snuggling with my husband or laughing with my teens. It's not nearly as gratifying as getting a scene written or the laundry done. When day passed into evening and I could fetch that cord down off the curtain rod, I found myself tending to get on the web, get whatever I needed done, and get off again. Living life became more attractive than surfing through it. I call that success.

So that's the Lenten wrap up. But what does it have to do with writing? Disposing of the vices that keep me bound mentally, physically, socially, or spiritually sets me free to write better and to live better. I only addressed three of that original list of fifteen, but today life is better (in at least three ways) because I did.


Something that's helping me write today: This question which I taped on the wall beside my desk many years ago and still read several times a day. What have you done in the past hour to improve/enrich your life or the lives of others?

It's been a week without TV. The blare of that obnoxious little box has been replaced by better stuff: joking with my teens, luxurious dips into my to-be-read pile, a better organized office, a cleaner house, and a dawning awareness of the possibilities pregnant in time that isn't filled with mind-numbing distractions.

It's also been a week without sodas and the worst of the withdrawal is past. I still want, want, want. But I'm learning to live without. The bouts of sugar-high/sugar-low, false-energy/crippling-fatigue are being replaced by a steadier sense of well-being, the ability to concentrate and see tasks through.

With the internet off limits during the day, there's also been substantial improvement in my writing productivity.

Positive stuff, right? So why did I title this post discouragement?

Because I've been wandering the net (before 9:30 am and after 3:30 pm, of course) getting a feel for how one creates a presence on the web. I've viewed author blogs and websites. I've looked at writer facebook pages and read their twitter tweets. I've listened to interviews and peered with search engines into the comings and goings of bestsellers, mid-listers, and debut authors.

And I am overwhelmed. And discouraged.

Everywhere I see writers with clever blogs, uber professional websites, search list results that go on for pages, and tweet activity to rival a rainforest canopy. I feel like a barefoot hillbilly among all the sophisticated, visually stunning, and intimidatingly prolific marketing.

Something that's helping me write today: a clean, well-organized office and this quote from page 325 of Martha Beck's book Finding Your Own North Star:

"I believe with all my heart that if a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly...If you're going through a major transition, your hero's saga is absolutely certain to include unfamiliar situations and new skills. The first few times you try any of these...you're probably going to do it badly. Terrific!...being willing to make a mess is a prerequesite to gaining new skills."

Commenter Gina asks: What are the fifteen failings you identified for Lent?

Well, I'm not quite ready to lay bare my entire soul on the net, but the three of the fifteen I chose to work on this Lent are dependence on tv, unnecessary web surfing, and my soda pop addiction.

Relinquishing daytime websurfing and email checking

Very difficult. Disconnected the internet and hung the cord on a ladder-only-accessable curtain rod to reduce temptation. Day one was a hard day. But in the last three days I've editted 10 chapters, written two new scenes, identified and solved a timeline problem within my novel, done a ton of laundry, and had a hot meal waiting for the family in a clean kitchen every day when they got home. I feel so encouraged today I was thrilled to throw that cord over the curtain rod at 9:30 am.

Eschewing TV

We don't do tv before 3 pm (a gift of a Lent a dozen years past), so I didn't even notice it was missing during the day. But in the evening I NOTICED. For the last several years I'd taken to turning on the TV for the evening news and letting it run until bedtime. I rarely just sat and watched it. Instead I used it as background noise for couch potato activities like reading, playing free cell, net surfing, etc. Sounds harmless, right? It's not. In just the three days since we turned it off I've experienced the desire to attend meetings, Jazzercise, walk the dogs, and spend considerably more time interacting with the kids. Amazing how removing a vice allows good things to rush in to fill the void.

Surrendering the Dr. Pepper

I'm in withdrawal!!!! Though I admit I eased the symptoms considerably by giving up most things containing High Fructose Corn Syrup at New Year. I've been drinking real sugar Dr. Pepper for the most part since then, so I'd already gotten through the worst of the withdrawal headache in January - three days of blistering pain. I've also eased the digestive withdrawal symptoms enormously by drinking lots and lots of water. And since exposure to refined sugar or sugar water (like fruit juices) increases my cravings for soda pop, I'm substituting real fruit for juice and avoiding refined sugars - adding a virtue to combat the vice.

That's where it's at for now. Now it's time to write novels, so I'm off the net.


Something that's helping me write today: Lent

Today Christians around the world (New Orleans, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sydney) will feast and frolic, imbibe and indulge. Tomorrow Lent begins. I confess Lent is one of my favorite times of the year. It's a life boat of hope in my personal sea of hedonism.

The promises made to put aside vices and embrace virtues at New Year are made to self. And those blessed with strong self-discipline probably have great success with New Year resolutions. But those of us born with self-discipline the size of a housefly, and just as easily led astray with a little sugar water, don't find New Year resolutions nearly as productive.

Promises made only to myself aren't enough to keep me 'resolved'. I require more. Apparently I require a promise be made directly to the Alpha Omega of the Entire Universe before I consider it sufficiently binding.

So Thank God for Lent! Literally.

Lent is a time of penance, of suffering offered in repentance of sin. For me, giving up fast food binges, pointless net surfing, and couch potato comas isn't easy. But there's also joy in the release from vice, a swell of hope that turns into a tidal wave of well-being as the weeks progress. And, despite post-Lenten backsliding, there's always long term improvement, some degree of permanent relinquishing of vice.

Last night I attempted to list my failings. I managed to jot 15 items before being distracted by junk food and tv. Five of those 15 were things that directly impact my ability to write novels. The remaining 10 impact my ability to keep writing novels well into old age. Today I'll select a few of those 15 vices to relinquish for Lent.

How about you? Do you have vices that are keeping you from reaching your goals? What are you doing to clear your path to success?

Something that's helping me write today: This quote from Scott Reed: This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything.