Friday, March 10, 2006

Breathe in, breathe out (repeat)

OK, I'm trying not to panic, but I have to face the fact: I am simply not getting far enough fast enough on my manuscript. Any words of wisdom to be had out there in blog land? I know the best three have been trademarked by Nike. ...Which reminds me.... I wonder what I'd have to pay Nike to include a chapter in my book called "Just Do It." Clearly, just doing it is one tried-and-true way of leaving one's 40s -- one might call it The Original.

Anyway, I apologize for being so absent from this blog. I'll keep pushing to improve -- but if I have to choose between making progress on my book or making progress on my blog, well, you KNOW which one I'll choose.

Meanwhile, any and all pep talks for affecting a desperately needed quantum leap in my productivity will be gladly accepted.

Love,
Sheila

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sheila - Why do you need to make a quantum leap? Are your publishers breathing down your neck? Give me their phone number. Or better yet, their address! I'll go straighten them out.

You can't hurry genius! I'll say. Cut her some slack!

Seriously, I'm in no position to advise you on this, since I'm not a published author (well, unless you count one little essay in a local rag, which I do, but you know what I mean). So, since I'm in no position to advise you, I feel totally free to go ahead and do so.

First of all, no worries about the blog. You've taken on a lot with a book AND a blog at the same time, and it's clear where your priorities will be. I, for one, will not desert you. I'll keep checking the blog whether you post often or seldom.

Second, the only suggestion I can give about productivity is something I've learned from other types of productivity. You know, like vacuuming. If I've got company coming in 30 minutes, I'll vacuum. If not, and I just can't get up the motivation to vacuum but I know it needs to be done, sometimes I'll do something totally different. Like, I don't know, take a bath. Go to the movies. Visit a friend. Go for a walk or run.

Seems to me like taking an extreme break (not extreme in length, just extreme in its difference from what you're "supposed" to be doing) can result in coming back with a fresh outlook and more motivation.

I know this isn't a new idea, and, as I said, I'm not experienced in what you're doing. Mostly I said it so that you know you have my support and sympathy.

Another thing that might cause a quantum leap would be a triple latte. It would cause a quantum leap in your pulse rate, anyway!

Hang in there, kiddo. Let your fans know how we can help if we can, but mostly know we are out here!

Love,

Peg

Sheila Key said...

Ah, Peg, you angel you! This is exactly the pep talk I needed. ¡Muchísimas Gracias! At Dahn Yoga (my new passion), they encourage us to "love our stress." Well, by now, I love mine so well, I wanted to share it!

Seconds, anyone? There's lots!

Love, Sheila

P.S. Wanted to italicize that Spanish bit, according to proper publishing style, but no go. Used [carrot symbol]i[carrot symbol] before and after the Spanish words (can't type the symbols in right here or this post will be rejected again). Was prompted that I'm not "closing the tag" properly. Do you know how to close a tag?

Anonymous said...

Sheila - What a treat to meet you in person today! Now I have a face and voice to go with all these wonderful words!

As to "closing a tag" or any other publishing or HTML tasks - I'm clueless. Finally learned how to post a link (after an embarrassing number of failures) but that's it. I'm going to look for an online course in Basic HTML. If I find one, I'll post a link!

Peg

Anonymous said...

Diane - Thank you! I really need to learn HTML better!

Peg

Authors Interview with Pat McMahon

PAT'S LAST WORDS... Sadly (er, cheaply), when Peg and I ordered a copy of our appearance on the show, we opted for merely our "segment" -- as opposed to the whole show, or even the first half-hour. While this saved us all of ten bucks or something, it also, tragically, left off "the money quote" --- that is, what Mr. McMahon had to say when they got back from commercial. "Don't worry," he said. "The Loofah Lady is gone!" And indeed I was, along with my trustee sidekick and coauthor, Dr. Peg ---- off to tape another interview across town. (This was in Phoenix.) Let me see if we've got that one linked here -- it's called "Your Life: A to Z" ...

Authors Interview on KCHF TV