Writing is a journey, not a destination.

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Monday, November 29, 2010

Regrets

I've tried very hard to live without regret. Blame The Last Unicorn. It sounds like a good idea.
What I mean by that is I don't do anything I might regret.

TT: Most people seem to mean the opposite. They'd rather do it than regret not doing it. Not for this turtle. I've found I regret doing most things.

This is one of those areas where Dr. Gene Getz and I differ. He takes every opportunity. I shy away from most of them.

I don't regret it. hehe!

In my recent journey to publication, I've stepped far outside my comfort zone. I've submitted manuscripts. I've gained critique partners. I've started a blog. Shoot a monkey, I've started 3, and joined a fourth.

This is not normal for me. This is not typical turtle behavior.

Sometimes I regret it. Sometimes I wish I'd stayed in my shell.

Honestly, most of the time I regret it. One of the reasons I don't do things is because I've learned once you start, it's much harder to stop. That's a rule of thermodynamics. I don't remember which one.

As I venture out of my comfortable swamp, I find a world of people who frighten or annoy me. I've found many who excite and encourage me, too, but being a cynic, I focus on the bad first.

Rabbi Lapin says change is constant, inexorable and necessary. Yes, I'm still reading Thou Shall Prosper. He says if your job doesn't evolve from year to year, you're dead or dying.

Oi!

I must have suspected this a year ago when I started this journey. I must have realized I will only live to eleventy-one if I take on new challenges and learn to adapt. The vampire Lestat learned the trick, and he was an idiot.

But it is not easy. I do not like it. I don't know why I'm here or what I think I'm doing.

I'll keep doing it, of course. According the rabbi, I have to. It's a good thing turtles don't need reasons other than food.

Publication = opportunities to eat. I must keep that firmly in mind when I am tempted to regret starting all this. I never regret eating.

Well, almost never.

3 comments:

  1. Its Newton's first law of motion: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

    In other words, you'll keep going until someone stops you. I hope you don't let them! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Princess Turtle is a snapping turtle and she doesn't give herself nearly enough credit. There is also cheesecake in publication...turtle cheesecake. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear readers, these are the exciting and encouraging folks I mentioned above. The scary ones don't comment here.
    Sometimes the annoying ones do. Oops! Did I write that? hehe!

    ReplyDelete

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