IWSG: March edition

It's very simple, this month's insecurity:

If I've been gone so long, can I return?
If I take a time-out, can I come back?
Will I be welcomed?
Probably. Likely.
But still, the fear and insecurity have kept me away.

How silly is that?

IWSG: As The World Turns

Happy first Wednesday of the month, world! That means it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, a fabu resource that I've been remiss in joining, lately. Sorry. :(

News alert, guys: The world goes on.

Shocking, I know.

But I spend far too much time worrying about what everyone else is doing, and not focusing on myself. [And I just had a Holy Crap Moment because that is EXACTLY what my teachers used to put on my report cards when I was in elementary school. Apparently, I haven't grown up...]

This started earlier in the week when a friend who has never expressed an interest in writing informed me that she had an idea for a 3-book children's self-help series. When we got off the phone on Monday, her plan was to finish writing the first book, outline the other two, and get her query letter done... all by the weekend. If an agent isn't interested, that's okay. She'll print her own copies and distribute to major opinion leaders she thinks will be interested. Have I mentioned that she's never written anything before in her life?

I wasted SO MUCH MENTAL ENERGY thinking about the audacity of the entire situation. Who is this person to think they can just bang out a story and a query letter in 7 days?

Then it hit me: instead of stewing, I should be writing. Instead of being mad at her for feeling like she isn't respecting the process, I should acknowledge it for what it is--her dream and not mine. My path is different, and is paved with years of experience, research, reading, and the loveliest part of it all, the writing. I've put in my own work to reach my own dream and I'm grateful it's taken more than a week.

So I am trying to accept things that are out of my control. I am focusing on my own dreams. I am accepting that the world goes on. Authors sign with agents every day. Books are sold to publishers every day. Sitting around, fretting, stewing, and feeling the ugly fingers of bitterness and jealousy tugging at my soul is NOT the solution.

The world goes on.
Sorry if I don't notice it, though. I'm busy writing.

Where's Your Head At?

Please excuse the preposition at the end of the title. I'm from the midwest--we do that around here.

And yes, it's also a song. I've linked to the video at the bottom of this post. Turn it up and start chair dancing!

My head isn't in the game this week. I'm incredibly distracted by things going on in the real world and they are preventing me from focusing on my story worlds. I have a friendship in trouble, a budding relationship that feels like it's about to fade out, an ex who wants to be back in the picture, a diet that is just not working, and oh yeah...

A MAJOR INTERVIEW ON FRIDAY.

Sound the alarm... (side note: Say what you will about Nikki Minaj. I'm a BIG fan of her new single...)

I have too many "real" things to sort out that I can't seem to muster the energy to look at my story stuff. In an effort to not totally fall off the writerly wagon, I've been writing out my interview notes by hand and I'm reading a new book that is somewhat in the same vein as my proposed NaNo story. So my creative side is still churning, just a bit slower these days.

I know some people who can literally "turn off" their brain and just write. They can push aside any stressors and focus on their creative pursuits. I'm not one of them. I try to run or do a strenuous workout when my mental hamster is really running in her wheel (ahem, like yesterday), but I can't bang out 3 miles every day.

How about you? Do you need to have everything 'just so' in your world before you can sit down and start creating?

As promised, your video, compliments of YouTube:

Welcome back!

I figure if the local coffee shop chains have unveiled their pumpkin flavored deliciousness, then it's high time I get back to into the swing of things.

But first, a confession...

I'm sorry. I didn't ever want it to get to this, but I don't know any other way out.

I'm going to hit the dreaded "Mark All as Read" button on my Google Reader. I know, I know. You all wrote BRILLIANT blogs in August. I'm sure of it. But at last check, it was over 1000 unread blog posts. It got to the point where I had so many to read and I was feeling like SUCH a fraud for not reading, that I stopped blogging as a result. Cuz that makes sense--just sticking your head in the sand in hopes that it all goes away...

So, I'm confessing my sin and coming clean. And I'm bringing my new, down-to-zero Google Reader with me.

Have you ever felt so behind in something that you didn't know how to get out? Have you ever cleared your Google Reader and started over?