Goodness landed in my lap this week as I work through the final round (she said hopefully) of edits to my work-in-progress and I can’t help but share.
I revel and rejoice when heartfelt and timely input arrives. Blessed are the readers – beloved beta readers and members of my writing workshop – offering invaluable input. Diving into the story, sharing their delight AND offering input about enrichment.
In it to win it, with me.
A dear one offered a glimmer of an opportunity after pondering the first chapter. An idea sitting right under my nose, waiting for me to see it. She said, “It’s an old adage but a good one.”
Your opening scene should carry the ending, the resolution…but deftly. In its shadow.
I don’t want to give anything away, but that thought – that singular thought – helped me reframe, rethread the needle. But…the seemingly straightforward edits had tentacles…connections within the story resulting in a laborious editing quest.
Looking for relief, I stepped away from my desk to tackle some overdue and urgent (see me smirking?) decluttering in my office and stumbled over a forgotten gem. A motivational antidote arriving in well-chosen words from Yeats:
“Go forth, the teller of tales. And seize whatever the heart longs for. Have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true. And the earth is only a little dust under our feet.”
-W. B. Yeats, “The Celtic Twilight”
What I needed was perspective – time away from my project in order to fearlessly embrace a revisionary idea followed by a smattering of self-talk.
A reminder:
I write because I enjoy it and hope readers will find pleasure in it BUT I’m not solving the world’s many problems.
Just write, Vicki. And lighten up.
Yup. Nudging myself to tell this tale and get ready for what comes next.
Vicki 💝
P.S. This isn’t the first time I found comfort in prose from Yeats. This post is still a favorite:
Hi – I’m Victoria, Vicki, Dr. Vicki. I hold a doctorate in Adult Education and I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and author of Surviving Sue | Eckhartz Press.
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Victoria Ponders 
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