--Author Unknown
Welcome, welcome to my blog! Doesn't it look
Those of you who have been around for a while know I haven't. Been around, that is. I could rattle off a dozen
Take a good look. Now look again, harder. Don't do what I have. I'm a living example of what can happen to you and your dreams if you stop believing.
Wow, L.T. Way to ease us in, right? There's a method to my madness, though. I'm aiming for a little personal accountability and I also feel some explanation is owed. For a little over a year, I haven't pursued my writing. Not in any serious depth. I've attended conferences, written some, and read lots. But for all the pretty wrapping, that box has been empty. The descent was somewhat gradual and then one day I woke up and realized that I wasn't just abandoning my dream, I was destroying it by degrees.
Looking over that wreckage hurt a lot. This April I banished myself from the internet (*confession* I cheated a little) to force myself to get back to work and try and salvage something. A week before April ended, I stood among the ashes of a beloved project and realized my best option was to shelve it. More than two years of work.
Yeah, that sucked.
I've always seen that project as the story of my heart but even I could see I was too close to it. (Its bleeding, shredded innards might have clued me in, also.) I gave myself that last week of April to throw myself a pity-party and told myself that come May, it was time to get back to work on something new and fight for the dream.
It's been a hell of a fight. Lesson #2: Getting Rusty Sucks. Not only have ideas flowed like pouring molasses in an arctic tundra, but my words no worky so good no more. *cringe* And owning all of this ain't so fun, either.
So why spill? Two reasons: I need to be honest with myself & quit hiding. And maybe by being honest, I might help someone else. If you've let your dream slide out of focus, if you're wearing shades to avoid the gleam, if you're telling yourself that it doesn't matter or you'll do it tomorrow--stop.
There are situations when taking a step back is the best choice. Take care of your life, your family, your health. Take time for the things that matter. Sometimes you have to set the dream down. Sometimes, life rips it out of your hands and it shatters on the ground. But don't leave it lying there--whole or in pieces. Pick it back up as soon as you reasonably can. The safest place for a dream is in your hands, your head, your heart.
Take it from someone who let their dream get dusty and broken. It's easier to fix when you can remember how the pieces fit together. It's hard work but I've invested in some glue and a dash of hope. I'm drafting something new and this time I plan to keep a better grip on things.
And if your dream is dusty? It's not too late to let it shine.
Until next time,
L.T.
27 comments:
Dust, dust away! I'm glad you've found your way back, even though it meant abandoning a former love. Excited to watch you on your path!
You know, I really can't wait until your book comes out. :) And I have every belief that I will someday be reading a book authored by LT Elliot.
I relate to this post. I have often gone months without singing a note, and it's so sad. I hate it when I pick it back up and find how much I have lost. I hate how hard I have to work to get it all back when I could have been progressing the entire time. Your words here work for anything in life and we should all remember them. Thanks for sharing.
So this is the new digs? I like it. Familiar yet comfortable :)
Love the new blog. I'm your biggest fan so I'd follow you anywhere. Glad to see you're back in bloggie land. HUGS
I love your honesty, because that is exactly what the Internet needs, and that's what this online writing community should be here for. Let me know if you ever need a shoulder to lean on, or whatever. I'm here for you.
Also, I know you deleted the post about your grandfather (it still showed up in my feed for some reason, but I'm glad it did). It made me cry. At work. You have so much to offer, so please don't let it go by the wayside.
You would be all too surprised if you knew how many people relate to your thoughts on a much too realistic level.
I've had to get my sword out to keep from quitting. I've been fighting with myself, willing the desire to work even though sometimes it feels like a sham.
But if you don't give up the fight, that passion comes to life at some point and makes you feel all that happiness you've missed.
Or, uhm, this is me spilling my guts and your honesty has brought out some of mine.
Love you L.T.
That's the good thing about writing, you can always pick up a pen again (or laptop). I'm so glad you decided to brush off the dust and I know your honesty will help others, because it's already helped me.
So true about taking care of what matters first, otherwise we simply are distracting ourselves with everything else.
Oh my goodness! I didn't know that you had stopped completely, really. I don't remember you telling me that the last time we met up, but it makes my heart very, very sad. I want you to know that I think post is wonderful, and even more wonderful is that you are getting back into something that obviously fills a gap in your life. I am getting close to finishing my break and then I'll be heading into Scales again. I've got to get that written and then the next book and the next and the next. I'm actually excited for writing again! I just had to step back for a second to get there. :)
I wish you the best of luck, my dear friend. I'm always here if you need. Please let me know if you'd like to meet up again. I miss you!
Perhaps your fiction words are a little rusty, but your blogging words are flowing free and beautifully, love.
I've done what you did. Some days, in small degrees, I still do. More of a letting things slip and bounce away for awhile than the actually shattering I allowed a year ago, but still...it's a struggle. Daily. That's why it's so easy to falter, and why it's so amazing and rewarding to persevere.
You are a light, Laura. A light. And I love that you're bringing that light to bear again. Because the dark shouldn't have you. The dark doesn't deserve you, nor you it. ((hugs))
Love you, Laura! Hooray for picking up your dream again. Hope to see and hang with you this weekend!
Well... I almost felt like I was reading my own thoughts. Good luck! Let us all pursue our dreams.
Wow. This sounds eerily familiar. *cringes*
I am so glad to know you're picking it up and gluing it back together. If you run out of glue, let me know. We can go buy more together.
I'd say your words are working just fine. Your writing is beautiful as always. :-)
<3 You know I always love ya! So glad you are dusting things off. =)
I share your pain. My writings have been shelved since I came home from my last deployment last October... It's life, but we just have to pick up where we left off and continue to press.
~Houdini
As someone who is fighting to keep my dream propped up, I can hear this very clearly.
Have you read The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield? One I'd recommend.
I'm rooting for you and I'm here no matter what you need, alright?
As one who had to shelve my dream for over a dozen years, I say, Yay for you! It takes courage to drop a dream, even for a little while, it takes courage to pick it up again and it takes courage to recognize that something isn't working. I think you will find that this next book is easier to write and that the two years you spent on the other was no waste of time. Love you!
You're back! You're back, you're back, you're back! *happy dancing*
I've missed your words. Missed them SO much! I'm thankful that you're back in the writing saddle again and that you haven't given up. Sometimes, a sabbatical is just what we need.
(And as far as that new project goes--you know I'll always be available if you need me. I'd beg, even. I'd send you chocolate.)
Sending lots of ♥♥♥. I know you'll see your dream realized, whether it's the old project or the new one!
Love the new diggs. (heh heh)
So glad you're back! I've missed you.
Welcome back to creation and dreaming and imagination!
Ahhhh. Reading your words, even these words, is like breathing to me. I feel such relief. And relief, too, to hear you are making like a phoenix and rising from the ashes of the story you loved so much.
This line: The safest place for a dream is in your hands, your head, your heart.
Is brilliant and made me so happy to read.
Yeah. Me like. Much.
Great post, Laura, and I can totally relate. I think many of us can. Thank you for coming back. I can't wait to see what you do with your new project. *Many Hugs, My Friend*
My problem is I'm doing too much of the wrong kind of writing. I'm maybe 8000 words away from finishing the NaNo book I started when we did it together, and I keep finding other ways to spend my writing time. I'm sorry your project turned to dust, but that's also what happens to vampires - until just a drop of life-blood hits them and they're back in action again. Never say die, Laura!
I missed you, my friend, and your words are a breath of life blowing from the darkness. I too have been struggling to find the words, and here you've said them so beautifully.
Love you, Ell, and if you need anything-anything at all-all you need do is call.
HUGS!
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