Hey All!!!
As many of you know, I'm in the mist of the storm of wedding planning...and it has been a major source of both joy and frustration in my life to say the least. Between having to research 10 vendors for every thing that we need, and having to make tons of decisions about décor and themes and such, I'm exhausted. Not to mention the ever present political things that come up during this process...things like being asked, "Can you invite so-and-so that you've never met a day in your life because they're my friend?" by loved ones when they know darn well that you're trying to keep to a budget. But now that I'm coming to the end of the "major items I have to get off my list", I am able to stand still and look at what this process has taught me...many of these lessons are great when placed towards my writing.
1)
Make a List and Check it Twice! - When I first started wedding planning, I went with where my interests lay. If I wanted to look at DJ's, then I looked at DJ's. If I wanted to search dresses, then I did that. That led to lots of fun searching, but no real progress. So, the fiancé sat me down and talked to me about making sure I had a list of to do's and keeping to it. After that I started really using the lists given on The Knot and Wedding Wire and have been really organized ever since.
The same determination and strategy-based focus is a must when it comes to writing...especially for the tasks that you don't particularly care for. In my case, I'm not good at social media and being overly aggressive online. I'm more of a homebody who likes to watch movies and do some heavy reading, and that doesn't bode well for the promotions side of this business that I need to do. So, I'm looking to put myself on a major schedule so I can do what I need to, which is to promote my work!
2)
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff! - There are few processes as stressful as planning a wedding. You make decisions daily that will either make someone unhappy (such as not giving every single person there a plus one) or you're worried about the linens not being right, or there not being enough food, or of something going wrong! But the thing is, something will inevitably go wrong. Yes, I've been thinking about this one day for as long as I can remember, but the most important part of it is that I'm finally marrying the man of my dreams. If someone wants to talk badly about the fact that they didn't like our décor then they can kiss my behind (and I really do mean that). I don't want to spend my time worrying about anything that doesn't involve the relationship and foundation of the marriage I'm going in to.
When you're putting your book (or baby, as I like to call it) into the world, it's very easy to get caught up in the negative talk in your head. Things like, "What if no one reads it?" or, "What if everyone hates it?" can easily get you off the track of putting your work out there. When it comes down to it, we write to put our stories out into the world. So, don't worry about folks not liking it and not understanding your genius. The only person who has to fully understand you is you!
Well, you and maybe your significant other =).
Happy reading and writing!
