Have you ever seen "What About Bob" with Bill Murray? Hilarious. One thing that his psychotic psychiatrist told him was that he needs to take baby steps. "Baby steps oto the elevator. Baby steps into the elevator. I am in the elevator." As i've been watching my son trying to crawl, I've realized how important baby steps are. Sometimes he looks like he wants to jump right up and run. These are the times that he falls over, bonks his head, lands on his arm, etc. Then it's my job to coming running and comfort him.
Baby steps are so important in writing. It's so hard not to think that I should be running with a New York Times bestseller...right now! Writing is an art and takes time. Each time I make a mistake, fall, bonk my head, etc. it's something I learn from and come one step closer to crawling, and then standing, then walking, and maybe one day I will be jumping up and running with that bestseller. Maybe.
But for now, I feel like I'm still trying to learn to roll over. With patience and perseverence, just like my son, I will figure it out. One step at a time.
How do YOU keep yourself from running before crawling?
So true! I think the hardest thing about this business is having patience. Everything takes a long time--writing a book (or ten books), revising, getting an agent, selling the book, waiting for publication. Instant success just isn't an option. It is hard to be patient sometimes, but hopefully all the effort will be worth it someday.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice. :) I definitely need to listen to this.
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