Zip. Zilch. Zero. That’s what I got done today. I have no word count to report today. I didn’t even take the hard copy of my novel out for editing. I don’t know if it’s the heat or the constant needs of other people during the summer, but I pretty much surrendered today. I took a day. A day of doing absolutely nothing that could move me forward in my quest for that book contract.
I can’t say I caught up on reading trade magazines. I still have five of them on my desk to be read. I can’t say I plowed through my new book by Christina Katz (Get Known before the Book Deal) because I haven’t picked it up since last night. And boy is it chock full of information! I didn’t get the little bit of research I needed for chapter five done either. I don’t often waste a day away like this. I’m not proud but I’m honest. I just couldn’t get into anything ‘writing’ today.
As I write this, I’m sipping iced tea and popping teeny beany jelly beans into my mouth, just letting my mind wander. After years of working on back to back deadlines, homeschooling kids, running a household and trying to do it all, I think today I just needed to let it all go and do nothing.
The hardest thing to do, for many of us who do too much, is to give ourselves permission to just do nothing. When was the last time you just threw your hands up in the air, ignored all the ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’ and just let it all go?
Tomorrow it’s back to work….and I’ve got a list of ‘shoulds’, ‘musts’ and ‘to do’s’ just waiting for me. But for now I’m just enjoying a lazy, hazy day of summer before they’re all gone!
Chris
Countdown to Contract 