Writing Off the Grid

Patience is a virtue. Growing up, that was something I heard often. And although I understood what it meant, it wasn’t something that came easy to me. I couldn’t wait for the school year to end to enjoy the freedom that the summer break afforded. I couldn’t wait to escape my awkward adolescence and become a grown-up. And I definitely couldn’t wait for the day when I would be able to leave my parents’ home for a place of my own. I was always in a rush to move to the next stage, always running ahead to an uncertain and unforeseeable future.

Learning to Go Slow

As I focused more on my writing, and specifically as I transitioned from short-form to long-form fiction, I struggled again with patience. I wanted to write the first drafts quickly so that I could get to my favourite phase: the rewrite. Then I wanted to speed through the rewrite(s) so I could send the manuscript off for editing. And while the manuscript was with my editor, I’d start on another project, still anxious and thinking about what my editor thought. Because I wanted to move the project to the next stage. [Read more…] about Patience as Virtue

As April began, my focus was on change because, as I recently explained in my last newsletter, I had a feeling that something was off. Life had been speaking to me, but I wasn’t listening even though I knew, knew, that if I changed my habits I could change my life. And I have a vision of what a better life can look like. A better life beyond the big dreams and goals I’ve been chasing. A life filled with calm, joy, love, and purpose. But to create that better life means changing my mindset, which isn’t always easy. It also means making sacrifices. That’s why I’m going back to writing off the grid.

The more I talked about change on social media, the more I thought about what seemed to be missing from my life. While I was creating lots of content for my social media accounts, progress on my writing projects stalled. What happened to the passion I had for writing? I realized that I had let it be derailed by less important things. [Read more…] about Writing Off the Grid