Self-accountability…

I have to remind myself that the blog is just as much to make me accountable to myself.

With that in mind…

“So, Tim, what’s going on with your Lisa G book?”

“Sitting down and editing never feels like I’m getting anything done. It just doesn’t feel ‘concrete’ enough. It feels better when I see new words on the screen.”

“It’s only 2000 words, for god’s sake. Just set a timer for 15 minutes and forge ahead!”

“Okay, yeah, yeah. What a nag.”

“Gimme a break. You’re just wussing out to resistance. Remember–just 15 minutes. And check back with me tomorrow.”

Shame on me…

About five years ago, during a short midday stroll, I approached a tall thick hedge.

On the other side of that hedge, an SUV driver was blindly backing up at a good clip.

Something [call it a guardian angel] caused me to pause as I reached the hedge. [Guess you could say I ‘hedged at the hedge’…**]

One more step and I’d have been seriously munched.

What’s the point?

In his ‘Read Obituaries’ section in Show Your Work, Austin Kleon tells us of how George Lucas, after nearly dying in a car accident in his teens, decided ‘every day now is an extra day’.

Shame on me for not making that my mantra since that near-hit day.

 

 

**Hey! Blame Austin Kleon for that one.  Quote from Show Your Work:  “Take inspiration from the people who muddled through life before you…making do with what they were given, and having the guts to put themselves out there. Follow their example.”

Okay, so I needed 200 words and…

I haven’t done that. I’ve answered emails. Not good. And I’ve printed out discount coupons for Baja Fresh. And I’ve looked for some of my incomplete writing projects. And I’ve flailed away at probably two or three other vitally important tasks on this computer. And produced no words.

The one thing I did do was opt for writing over washing a few dishes, so that’s a start. But then I drifted into the above displacement activities. I need help. I guess this is as good a start as any—the ol’ guideline ’admission is the first step to recovery’ is at play here. Recovering my writing habit.

Thank you, Jeff Goins, by the way, for your ‘practice makes habits’ suggestion. And in the process, I’ve produced 120 words. And I’m making me accountable at least to myself.

“So, what do you do?”

In his book, Show Your Work, Austin Kleon suggests that we treat the question as a means to connect with the questioner or, in our case, listeners/viewers/readers.

Just explain humbly and honestly, he says.

So here goes–a list I developed over a smoked salmon scramble breakfast during my personal, ‘I won’t be able to drive for four more hours, so I’m stopping here’ weekend writer’s retreat.

  1. I’m writing.
  2. I’m creating educational content for future online possibilities.
  3. I’m semi-retired. [as in, I’m not sure if I am or not.]
  4. I’m looking for volunteer opportunities in my community.
  5. I’m avoiding the monumental task [in my mind] of decluttering.
  6. I guess I’m facing the distinct possibility that I’m done with public school teaching.
  7. I’m eating too much kettle corn. That stuff is the work of the devil.
  8. For health reasons, I’m trying to cut back on my baking.
  9. For comfort reasons, I’m ignoring list item #8 and pop in an occasional batch of herb-cheese rolls, chocolate-chocolate chip muffins, or a sweet potato quick bread. [I’m sharing with others…so there’s no need yet to widen any doorways should I visit.]

 

 

So the question is…

will this blog help to make me more accountable to myself and my writing goals? I’m hoping so.

It seems the daily challenge will be to ‘Write as if…’.

  • As if it has value. [For now, if it keeps me writing, then, yes, it does have value.]
  • As if it has, or will eventually have, value for others.

And thank you, Steven Pressfield, for your more impactful treatment of ‘writing as if…’.