Striving for Perfection

I have been working on a book for eight months now. I finished writing the book at the end of the first month and have spent the rest of the time revising. It sat for a little over a month simmering while I worked on other projects. Then I polished the first chapter so I could enter it in the LDStorymakers first chapter contest. Since April I revise and rewrite on this book whenever I sit at the computer.

My husband read the first draft and encouraged me to keep going with the project. Since then he asks to read it again to see where it is now, but I keep putting him off. You see, it isn't perfect yet. And there lies the problem. Half of my brain knows that it never will be perfect. There will always be something I wish I could change. The other half of my brain keeps telling me I should keep plugging away at it until it is perfect.

In King Lear, William Shakespeare wrote, "Striving to better, oft we mar what's well." An important part of the writing process is knowing when to stop. I have a friend who writes and writes very well, but she doesn't submit very much because there is always something she feels the need to fix. Her stories go through so many changes, that often the final version bears no resemblance to the original. And still the revising continues.

So I've decided to lighten up on myself a little. My writing is continually improving but it will probably never be perfect in this life. I am going to start handing out the draft to readers before I "mar what's well." It may be better than I give myself credit for, but I will never know unless I let it leave my hands for a little while.

Goals and Success

I've been thinking over the last few days about goals. Somebody commented recently (sorry, I can't remember who) about meeting their writing goals. I was impressed that they actually had writing goals. I mean, I have goals, but they are huge things - publish a novel, sell more short stories, etc. The comment reminded me that goals need to be broken down and written down, and they need to be flexible.

Publishing a novel is a great thing to aim for, but what are all the steps to getting there? I can't just sit down one morning and say to myself, "Today, I am going to write a novel." I think that has been most of my problem lately. I get up every morning with the need to write, but it is such an abstract thing.

Og Mandino said, "The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams."

So to be successful as a writer I need to set more concrete goals. They can be things like writing a certain number of words each day, making a daily entry on my blog, editing previous work for a certain amount of time. It always seems by breaking down the dream into smaller puzzle pieces, things start to fit together and pretty soon, the bigger picture starts to emerge.

So my achievable goal for today is that I am going to come up with a list of concrete little goals to hang near my computer and refer to every time I get distracted by the bigger picture. And like Mandino says, my success will be half won by the goals I set and achieve. What kind of smaller goals do you set for yourself to keep you going?

Tagged

I was tagged two different times with the same thing, so here it is. The rules are that you’re supposed to remove the blog site at the top of the list below, move all the blog site names up one, and add yourself to the bottom.

A Writer's Ramblings
Musings from an LDS writing mom
LDS Writers Blogck (Connie S. Hall)
ANWA’s Founder & Friends
Write Bravely

What were you doing ten years ago? I was expecting my third child and newly separated from my husband. I had just moved back to Canada. Just trying to make it through each day.

What were you doing one year ago? Enjoying summer with my three children and husband. Recovering from another round of sewing prom dresses.

Five snacks you enjoy:
1-Smoothies, almost any kind with yogurt and fruit, 2-fresh cherries, 3-anything chocolate, 4-a handful of dried fruit, 5-herb tea

Five songs you know all the lyrics to: 1-I am a Child of God, 2-O Canada, 3-The Prayer (even the Italian), 4-Hush Little Baby, 5-Popcorn Popping

Things you would do if you were a millionaire: Pay off our bills and house, travel, finally do something to decorate my house.

Five bad habits: 1- overeating, 2- not exercising, 3-not believing in myself, 4-staying up too late, 5-getting distracted from the things I should do by the computer.

Five things you like to do: 1-write, 2-read, 3-sew or do needlework, 4-visit with family, 5-watch old movies

Things you will never wear again: 1-blue mascara, 2-leg warmers, 3-my wedding dress, 4-last years Halloween costume, 5-hair scrunchies

Five favorite toys: 1-my sewing machine, 2-the computer, 3-ice cream maker, 4-my bike, 5-my kids

Where will you be in ten years: Speaking at writing conferences and attending book signings for my books (positive thinking is the thing)

Five people to tag:
Mandi, My Life in a Laptop, Astle Busy Centre, Aneeka, and Lifelong Bookworm.

Sheep's_Clothing by Josi S. Kilpack

Sheep's_Clothing was one of my Summer Reading Thing choices. I read this book over the weekend and loved the story. It is great to read an LDS book about current topics. We are on the computer a lot in our house, so the subject of internet predators felt quite relevant for our family. It was interesting to me how the predator was portayed and how he worked his way into the life and mind of Jess. The point of view of the teenagers felt real. I can remember thinking and feeling similar things about friends and family when I was Jess's age.

I did find the first few chapters a little confusing as it switched point of view so often. But I soon got used to the writing style and enjoyed the book. It did seem that the problem was resolved too quickly and not enough attention paid to her experience being kidnapped. I think the point of the book was the danger of the internet for our children, and that was well addressed. And of course I loved that the book ended near Waterton Park because it is so close to home.I will recommend this book to others because I found it an enjoyable read.

Cold Water and Computers

We are still on our vacation and having a great time. My youngest daughter said, "This is a great vacation and it just keeps getting better. And we have only been away from home two days!" Of course this was said while we were in a candy store and Grandma was letting each child fill their own bag of candy.

Staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house without any water was an interesting experience. We took "showers" for church by taking a gallon container of water that had sat outside in the sun for several hours, poured just enough over our heads to wet us down, lathered up, and then rinsed off. The water was freezing and I think my kids have a new appreciation for a hot shower. I know I do.

I took the time away from the computer to read the new "Writer's Digest" magazine and catch up on some of the reading from my summer list. I keep saying I need some alone time to try and get a little writing in, but I don't get very far with a pen and paper. I find I can never write as fast as I think. It always amazes me to think of Jane Austin, Shakespeare, and Charles Dickens, penning their stories in poor light without the aid of spell check and a printer. It really is marvellous that they wrote what they did, when they did. And I think I should never complain about having to do second and third drafts when I have access to modern tools. So as great as vacation is, I am looking forward to getting home to my own hot shower and my computer.

Traveling

Tomorrow morning we are leaving for a week to visit with family in Montana and Idaho. It is supposed to be record breaking temperatures, so sitting in an air conditioned van could be a good thing. We will visit my mother first, which should be interesting. She and her husband live in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain. She called yesterday to ask if we are still coming. We are still welcome, but she told me they are having trouble with their well. They aren't sure if it is dried up or what the real problem is. It means roughing it for a few days. She suggested maybe we will float down the river for our Saturday bath. Should be interesting.

The most interesting part is traveling with the three kids for so many hours in an enclosed space. Of course, we will spend less time in the van than we did last summer when we traveled from Southern Alberta to southern Washington to see the ocean. My aunt offered us their portable dvd player and I have heard from many parents how easy it is to travel with children when a movie is playing. So far I always turn down the offer. My kids travel well most of the time. I pack things for them to do and we have several travel games they like to play like I Spy, The Alphabet Game, The License Plate Game, etc. Now that they are getting a little older, they like to read and do word puzzles.

We are looking forward to getting away for a few days and the kids are excited to see Yellowstone Park for the first time. But I am always looking for new ideas. Does anyone have any other ideas for games or activities to keep the family happy while traveling?

Being an Introvert

In the June 2007 issue of Writer's Digest I read an article titled "Moth's Guide to Schmoozing" by Christine King. I was very excited to read this article as I felt it described me perfectly. As much as I enjoyed the conference in Utah, I wondered how the event would have changed if I had read the article first. I imagined that I could have walked into the room, comfortable with my own discomfort. Maybe, knowing that half the people in the room were feeling the same way, I would have spent more time approaching others and making new acquaintances. Maybe I could have convinced myself to be more confident about my own writing and more willing to talk about it to others.

I also discovered a website shrinkingvioletpromotions.blogspot.com. They even have a link to a test to see if you really are an introvert Online Meyers Briggs Test. I love how they say that being an introvert is okay, in fact, it is part of what makes us unique, and we can learn to sell ourselves and market our work. I suppose if we were all extroverts, there would be fewer books and works of art. Because creating is one of those solitary things, best done in the otherworlds of one's own mind.