Building the dream

When I first started this blog back in March, I felt as if I were throwing words into a black hole. Yes, I studied up on SEO tips and got the word out to my family, friends, and fellow writing wizards. But still I wondered: would anyone ever find me here?

This week I received proof that at least one person did. Check out this post by blogger Andrew Grant, "I Used to Be a Perfectionist, But I'm Better Now." I think you'll recognize little old moi. He quotes my post from the first of this month on the same topic—and even says my title is brilliant! Well, naturally. Thank you, Andrew, not just for the shout out, but also for the post itself, especially these words that I keep reading over and over.

"...the antidote for our perfectionist procrastination is to simply do something.  Do something that’s good enough and then do something else and something else and keep on doing something else until, before you know it, you have built the dream."

Another gift this week came from writer Kristi Holl.

I reviewed her excellent book Boundaries for Writers here last month; I keep hearing echoes of it in my head as I face the daily struggle to clear time and "headspace" so I can work on my middle grade novel.

This morning I awoke to find that she'd chosen to write about my book, Spontaneous Combustion, on her aptly-named Writer's First Aid blog. What moved me most about her post, "Nourish Your Soul with Spontaneous Combustion," was when she revealed that she reads part of my book every day before she starts work on her her own novel. That gives me goosebumps, literally, to know that I can help another writer in that way. And it's just what I hoped my book would do when I wrote it. Thank you so much for sharing that, Kristi. It means a great deal to me.

Feeling like Sally Field this morning

"You like me, you really like me!"

That's actually a misquote, but it's how the infamous Academy Award acceptance speech by actress Sally Field is remembered. She was parodied for that in comedy routines everywhere, mocked for her gushing, child-like relief in gaining other people's approval. In my book, Spontaneous Combustion, I write that you cannot depend on anyone else for validation of your writing—that has to come from within yourself. Still, I confess to sounding a lot like Sally Field this morning after seeing this review of my book.

Bodach blog review

What a rush of relief and gratitude I felt on reading this! Vijaya is a fellow writer, ICL teacher, and blogger, one who over the years has become a dear friend. She even offered me the honor of working with her on the edit of the manuscript of her YA novel.

But even friendship doesn't guarantee that anyone else will understand your work. I felt the presence of a "great cloud of witnesses" as I wrote this book, almost hearing a host of writers rustling behind my desk as I typed away. They were the ones I wanted to touch, to buoy them up in their moments of doubt, resistance, and despair. But I didn't know if I had succeeded in doing that; Vijaya's review reassures me that I did.

You can't see it, but I've got a huge smile on my face right now.

Writers and boundaries: blogger Kristi Holl's new series

It’s been an exciting but chaotic first week after the launch of my book, Spontaneous Combustion. Getting the word out is a challenge, even with all the social media opportunities available. Or maybe I should say especially because of all the social media “targets” one is supposed to hit. There is definitely a blog post in my future on this topic!

But as always, I am overwhelmed and deeply grateful for the outpouring of support from my fellow wizards. The people who write for kids are the most generous folks in the world: no divas or competitive egos here. Many writers immediately bought the book, and are now spreading the word via their blogs and websites. I even got an offer for a free blurb in an e-newsletter for writers, and Kristi Holl asked permission to quote me in her upcoming book.

Which brings me to the point of this post. Kristi has published a couple of books  to which I have long referred my ICL students. She also maintains a wonderful blog called “Writers First Aid.” She has recently begun a series there that you should definitely check out. It's about the relationship between a writer's boundaries and her productivity/creativity.

In chapter 6 of my book, I touch upon that, though I call it writer’s malaise. What Kristi does in her series, and also in her new book due out in about a month, is take a new look at the reasons why writers can't or don’t write. It’s a fresh insight into that quandary, one that is making me step back and think about my own boundaries. I think you might find it immensely helpful as well.