Thursday, July 02, 2009

Deadline Doozy

I missed my last blog date because I was in the hospital. It definitely was not a planned visit. I had three infections, and they ganged up on me. But I'm home now and recuperating.
And this is a good thing. I have a book to crank out. This is when I am grateful that both July and August have 31 days. I need the extra two days.
I had my assistant print out a quote I found. It says, "One's objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over. You see, your problem won't improve with age." I posted it where I can see it. The hope is that I will not ignore this advice.
I have a tendency to stew over things. Whether it is clean out the closet or write another chapter, I have to ponder the task for a while. Make that for days, sometimes, even months. 
What good does this do me? None that I can tell. 
I think of the Bible verse that says we should run the race before us. One of the spiritual truths I embedded in The Dragon Keeper Chronicles is that God expects us to do the task before us and that is it. He doesn't expect us to plan out daily activities for next year. He doesn't need us to contemplate what we should be doing ten years from now. Part of recognizing God is in control is to do the mundane as well as the spectacular. So, when I do the mundane (produce a thousand words a day), at the end of several months I have something spectacular--a new novel. 
When I was a teen, I daily went to high school. Believe me, it wasn't the most thrilling of experiences. But at the end of three years, I had something spectacular--a diploma and all the head knowledge that went with it. 
You know the old question, "How do you eat an elephant?" One bite at a time. 
Well my quote reminds me that I know how to eat, so I shouldn't be stopped by the first mouthful. I can get this right. 
Doing it quick saves me a lot of angst.  
Getting it out and over with gives me a lot of pleasure (and relief, too)
So I am resigning my position in the Procrastinator's Club. 
Starting right after lunch.



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