Some “Incredible”y tough love from this fantasy writer to…. this fantasy writer.

Today’s a day I really need to give myself some writer tough love. You know, a well-meaning beat down to help ultimately build me up and allow me to make some progress as I “pull myself together.” (Where’s Edna to make me a superhero costume when I need her? SIGH.)

I decided to do this in writing, thinking maybe some other people could benefit as well. So here goes!

• Writing time is WRITING TIME, Victoria. So stop obsessively checking facebook and twitter and the blog and your email when you’re supposed to be writing. Or editing. You barely got two scenes edited these last three days!!! FOCUS!
• So, you’ve got a million things on your mind? And a million things to do? Who doesn’t? That doesn’t make you unique. So stop freaking out about it and maybe make a to-do list if that might calm you down at bit. If it settles you enough to maybe concentrate on the task at hand without stressing about all the others, it’s worth it and a good strategy. One thing at a time!!! That’s all anyone can do.
• No one’s life is sure. No one at the beginning stages of their careers and in young adulthood really has a clue what they’re doing. Seriously. You published your first novel in April. That’s less than a year ago. How about you just accept that you’ve made some huge strides and hit some major milestones since then? How about giving yourself the credit you deserve for that and decide to enjoy the rest of the ride rather than feeling overwhelmed by it? Life is a journey. Try to enjoy the journey instead of worrying about where you might or might not be heading. Don’t miss the beauty of the trees for the forest.
• And for the love of all that’s holy, stop feeling guilty for devoting some time to your writing every day. And for blogging. Those are good things. No matter what you feel, no, you shouldn’t be doing something else. Something “productive.” Writing will pay off in the end even if it doesn’t seem to be doing that now. So will blogging. Don’t tons of people make a book of their blog posts? Can’t you do that? Sometimes in life you have to do something that isn’t entirely practical, like pursuing your dreams, when maybe it might make more sense to ground yourself a bit more. There’s no doubt you’d regret it more if you DIDN’T give it a real shot and threw in the towel now, than if you plugged on and maybe things didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Right? Right. So what’s the problem?

Edna has to remind the matriarch of the Incredibles, “YOU ARE ELASTIGIRL!” I guess today, I’m reminding myself of the same thing. I’m reminding myself that flexibility is good and necessary. It’s  a blessing that I can’t see where things are going, because if I knew, I’m sure it would ruin all kinds of wonderful surprises ahead. I’ve always liked order and control, and it’s time to accept and be grateful that I can’t be in charge of everything right now. I mean, seriously…. What kind of a mess would I end up making if I could? Haha! I know me far too well 🙂

So yes, I’ve decided to become a superhero, thanks for asking. Yes, I’m Elastigirl.

And yes, I will remember the most important rule of all.

NO CAPES!