tenacious
on being dogged about finishing things
To my dear Musers
At my wedding, my dad warned M about how tenacious I am. It holds up. It’s a good and bad part of who I am, but it helps me to get things done. Since I last wrote, I’ve had a week writing at Varuna. I’d arrived with an ambitious goal of finishing the second draft of my rom com. I’d arrived with the rewriting from the midpoint of the story. I was there with brilliant and celebrated writers (non fiction writers Kieran Finnane, Mary Hoban and Pip McGuiness, and poet Sheridan Linnell). I sent a message to a good friend on that first night: I’m dealing with my own imposter syndrome as I’m with a bunch of erudite women. It was a sweet mix of awe inspired and overwhelm being at a place where literary giants have written masterpieces.
In the first couple of days, I was distracted by the stunning weather, the blossoms and the huge task I’d set. I dipped in and out of books, walked and wrote a little. When the weather turned on the third day (dropping to a measly 3 degrees!), I cranked up the heater and got on with the job.
I coaxed myself forward with chopping and writing. Most mornings, I walked through Katoomba or down to the cliff walks. It was breathtakingly to watch the weather roll through the valley up to the cliffs. The BOM told me that it felt like -0.07 degrees Celsius as I listened to Miranda July’s All Fours with feet pounding the paths thinking about women and perimenopause; first thing I’d heard about it when I was at the crazed end of it. Her book made me want to be braver, take bigger risks in my manuscript. It helped me to stay strong in what I wanted for my protagonist Olive Brown. I hunted through Varuna’s vast library collection for snippets to encourage me. My desk piled with books and empty tea and coffee cups. I was getting close but the days were closing in on me.
On the second last day, the massage therapist came to the house and I indulged in a massage. I had planned to have finished the majority of the work by then as we were going out for dinner and the next morning I needed to be packed and out by 9.30 am. But I still had two chapters to go. After dinner where we talked our way through delicious dish after dish until we were the last ones there, I crept back into the Green Room. It was too late. I couldn’t. I set my alarm.
At 9 am, I pressed save. Done.
Now, it rests for at least six weeks and I’m in a liminal between-stories place where thoughts and ideas bob around while I catch up on all things missed at home and work.
Tenacity pays off.
What goals are you setting for your projects?
If you always achieve them, then maybe they’re not enough of a stretch. If you never achieve them, then maybe you need to make some subgoals.
Other things
I’ve run a couple of events in the last two weeks. They’ve been a bunch of fun talking with writers, artists and hobbyists about how to find more balance and joy with their creativity. I’ve got another couple coming up in November if you want to join. They’re free!
Reading
In the last month, I’ve read and loved:
All Fours by Miranda July – mind blowingly great
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty – perfect
The Talented Mrs Greenway by Tea Cooper – a great recommendation from
Three Wild Dogs and The Truth by Marcus Zuzak – great to read while in Sydney
Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel – I love graphic novels
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman – great recommendation from
Three Boys Gone by Mark Smith – an advance copy. You’ll have to wait until December to get your hands on this fantastic thriller
I’m currently reading:
To Sing of War by Catherine McKinnon (I loved Storyland which was set in the past, present and future with the land as the main protagonist)
What’s on your bedside table? What are you reading and loving?
Watching
Like so many others, I have been watching Nobody Wants This. Loved it so much we gobbled it up. We’ve also watch the film The Town and finished the latest Emily in Paris. What’s next??
What are you watching and loving?
Things that have caught my eye
I love spring for all of its outside distractions. It’s been wonderful to step outside and do a little gardening and literally smell the roses.
What has caught your eye lately?
Thank you dear Musers for reading
Til next time
x M
I enjoyed All Fours but was blindsided by how sexually explicit it was. It’s one of those books that stays with you after you’ve read it. It’s currently doing the rounds with my book club.