Just Do It

The toughest time for me as a writer is the time between projects. It's during this period that I waffle, questioning myself continuously about what idea to explore next. Should I work on that screenplay I've had flickering through my imagination? How about that non-fiction picture book? Or maybe I should just stick with a YA novel since I've been published in that area and I should just build upon "my brand" as they say in the industry. The worst is when I start something and get about 50 pages into it and then abandon the story, turning my attention to the next, big, sexy idea that draws my attention away from the real muck raking that happens when you write. Because of this tendency, I now have about 5 novels in various states of disrepair. Some people have agents to help them make their choices. Since I don't, I have to rely on my own internal compass. This morning, however, I had a realization.

The thought occurred to me when I was standing on the new patio my husband and I had installed this summer. One year ago, that patio wasn't there. In it's place was a row of dead trees and bramble. In the five years we've lived in this house, I've hemmed and hawed over pulling out those trees and landscaping the backyard, turning it into something more liveable. It wasn't until last summer that I finally met with a landscaper and planned out the project. Because of the landscaper's schedule, the project was slow going. Crews of men showed up at the oddest times throughout the project, throwing my own summer schedule into a tizzy. Then there were the endless decisions that had to be made. Where do I put the planting beds? How should we arrange the sprinkler heads? And what plants should we choose that would benefit most from amount of sun we receive in the backyard? Being a city girl at heart, all those decisions really started to get on my nerves and I just wanted it DONE. But now it is done and I marvel at how well my patio furniture looks on the pretty rose colored pavers. But it's more that this. How cool is it that I was able to take a loose idea and create something concrete (no pun intended) from it. Of course you might argue that my landscaping project was nowhere near the amount of work it takes to write a book. But isn't it the same thing?

So just do it (sorry Nike)! Go out there. Create something. Anything. And see how it turns out. Don't worry about the end product. Follow your muse. You just might get a book or screenplay or a pretty, rose-colored patio out of it. If you don't try (and finish), you'll never know.