Thanksgiving Day - by Veronica
Veronica is having Internet issues this morning, so asked me to post this - but the words are all hers, and I am grateful for them.
Talia had a wonderful post yesterday about being grateful. Thanksgiving is a day for appreciating family and friends, first and foremost, but it's also a day to appreciate our achievements. I have much to be thankful for this year. I published a novel in January, finished another one in the spring, and started yet a third one in the fall. Oh, and wrote and published a novella in the summer. Writing-wise, I can't complain. And I don't much. When I do, I usually catch myself pretty quickly.
Nothing worth having or doing comes without a little sacrifice, right? Deadlines are part of what I do. Writers block, and all the little frustrations with plot and character are part of the journey. Wanting to hit this list or get that kind of review: also part of the job. If you were to mix a recipe to create a writer, you'd add creativity, heaps of tenacity, a dash of competitiveness, and then top if all off with emotional sensitivity. We have drive--that's what it takes to finish a book--but we also have big squishy, soft hearts--which makes publishing a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Today, Thanksgiving, is a chance to step off the rollercoaster. It's a chance to be grateful for this moment. For where we are now. What we have accomplished up until this very moment--and to feel sated by it.
It occurred to me after reading Talia's post that Thanksgiving is also a day for Thanks-getting. Be thankful for the people around you, but allow yourself to be appreciated. Delight in the people who give your life shape, for you give their lives shape as well. Give thanks. Feel full today--and not just with turkey and stuffing. Be grateful, down to your very toes. But don't forget to receive thanks, too.
Talia had a wonderful post yesterday about being grateful. Thanksgiving is a day for appreciating family and friends, first and foremost, but it's also a day to appreciate our achievements. I have much to be thankful for this year. I published a novel in January, finished another one in the spring, and started yet a third one in the fall. Oh, and wrote and published a novella in the summer. Writing-wise, I can't complain. And I don't much. When I do, I usually catch myself pretty quickly.
Nothing worth having or doing comes without a little sacrifice, right? Deadlines are part of what I do. Writers block, and all the little frustrations with plot and character are part of the journey. Wanting to hit this list or get that kind of review: also part of the job. If you were to mix a recipe to create a writer, you'd add creativity, heaps of tenacity, a dash of competitiveness, and then top if all off with emotional sensitivity. We have drive--that's what it takes to finish a book--but we also have big squishy, soft hearts--which makes publishing a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Today, Thanksgiving, is a chance to step off the rollercoaster. It's a chance to be grateful for this moment. For where we are now. What we have accomplished up until this very moment--and to feel sated by it.
It occurred to me after reading Talia's post that Thanksgiving is also a day for Thanks-getting. Be thankful for the people around you, but allow yourself to be appreciated. Delight in the people who give your life shape, for you give their lives shape as well. Give thanks. Feel full today--and not just with turkey and stuffing. Be grateful, down to your very toes. But don't forget to receive thanks, too.
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