Category: The Quest

When we last left Betsy, she was shouting the plans she had for her writing business from the rooftops.  But then…nothing. 

Hmmm.

In all honesty, part of the reason for the nothingness was an extremely bad cold that hit Betsy HARD right after she made those bold proclamations.  Bad colds have a tendency to do that kind of thing.  In the same way that household appliances, such as water heaters, break right at exactly the worst time.

And part of the reason for the nothingness was that once she stops writing blog posts, Betsy sometimes has a hard time getting back into them.  Deciding what to say is a bit difficult when she gets out of the flow.

And PART of the reason she vanished is because Betsy told herself that she didn’t want to use her creative time and energy to write blog posts, although that was undeniably an excuse to make herself feel better about being lazy.

But still, there should have been some word by now, right?  Has Betsy been working at all?  Has something gone wrong?

Let’s see…

 

*Betsy is walking alone in a dark forest, in a thicket of vines and thorns and weeds that claw and bite and obstruct her way* *Trees rise before her in the darkness, their branches knit together overhead to block the sky*  *Dense shrubbery bars her way*  *Roots and rocks trip her up as she tries to walk forward*  *Betsy falls*  *Forces herself to stand up again*  *Holds hands in front of her to try to find her way, rips at the plants to make space to get through*

*Betsy stops*

*She turns to the left, to the right, in a circle* *Nothing* *Just darkness* *And weeds* *So many weeds*

I don’t know where I am! *Betsy claps her hands to her face* I’m lost!  I’m alone!  I don’t know where I am!  I don’t know where I’m going!

Sheesh.  Drama queen much?

Muse?  Is that you?  *Betsy blinks into the darkness*

Who the heck did you think it was?

I thought I was alone. *Betsy holds out her hands* *Catches the Muse’s robe*  I can’t see you.  I can’t see anything.

Why did you stop?

Why?  Why?  *Betsy’s fingers clamp down on the robe*  Because I’m lost.  Duh.

Hmm. *The Muse sounds contemplative* How did that happen?  I thought you were following a path.  I thought you had everything all planned out before you started writing this book.  That’s what you said anyway.

*Betsy pouts* *Lets her hands drop* I did…well, I thought I did.  But once I started, the path just faded away and all of this undergrowth popped up. Maybe I started at the wrong point and I need to go back and start over.

You’re doubting yourself.

Maybe.  *Betsy pouts* *Kicks at weeds*

And BECAUSE you’re doubting yourself, you made some wrong turns.

Maybe. *Betsy pouts* *Lip wobbles*

And MAYBE because you didn’t believe you had the right starting point and then you didn’t believe you had the right ending point, you got yourself stuck in the middle.  And now you don’t know where you came from or where you were going because you didn’t trust the path you’d laid out.  So you stopped.

Maybe.  *Betsy pouts*  But I was walking forward and this…thicket just sprang up and blocked the path! And the trees sprang up and blocked the sky!  And then I couldn’t see where I was supposed to go or what was ahead so I didn’t know if I was heading in the right direction!

You might have been heading in the wrong direction, but it was still a direction.  As opposed to, you know, now.  When you are heading in NO direction.

I guess.  *Betsy pouts*

And all of these plants didn’t just spring up out of nowhere.  Their seeds had to be sown first.

Oh.  *Betsy thinks*  So…you’re saying I planted them?

What do you think?

I think it’s not fair.

So?

*Betsy pouts, but she also thinks*  So, maybe I got lost in writing because I’m doubting and second-guessing myself.  And maybe because I’m doubting and second-guessing myself, I got stuck.  And maybe if I’m doubting and second-guessing myself in my writing, it’s because I’m doubting and second-guessing myself in other places, too.  And that makes me stuck all over the place.  And when I’m stuck, I’m not going anywhere.

Your writing is a reflection of you.  Weeds don’t just stay in one part of the garden.  If they’re there, they get into it all and choke everything out.

Oh. *Betsy thinks* Then how do I get unstuck?

How about you just take a step forward?  One little step.

*Betsy tries* *Vines wrap themselves around her ankles to hold her*

It’s hard!

Duh.  But you might want to know that you’re almost at the end of this draft.  You’re almost finished with this part of the project.  A few more hours of dedicated struggle and you’ll be there.

Really?  *Betsy blinks*  I don’t see anything.

Maybe not up ahead, but turn around.

*Betsy turns*  *Looks behind her*  *Sees a path laid through the weeds and the forest*  *It’s broken in places, but it’s there, glowing in the darkness*

Oh!

See?  You actually did make progress.  The path is rough, it needs work, maybe it needs a lot of work, but it’s basically there.

The weeds—

They’re trying to choke you out.  They’re trying to stop you.  That’s the test.  Can you keep going in spite of the weeds you planted yourself?  Can you keep pressing through when you are doubting yourself and don’t think you’re getting anywhere?

So I should keep going?  Stop second-guessing?

Yes.  *Betsy still can’t see her, but she knows the Muse is smiling*  Keep going.  Just move.  Just write.  Worry about the details later.

*Betsy thinks*  Okay.

 

To be continued…

 

 

When we last left Betsy, she was pushing the boulder of her work in progress up the mountain of her aspirations.  She’d been doing that for quite a while.  Quite a while.  But the last time we all got together, we found that Betsy had almost made it to the top!  In fact, she was on the verge of pushing her boulder over the edge!  The end was in sight!

Except…she wasn’t QUITE there.  And close only counts in horseshoes.  Until that boulder is over the edge, there’s a chance it never will be.

To make matters worse, Harry, the white rabbit who is Betsy’s Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author had gone missing for several weeks.  So had the Muse.  And that meant Betsy was alone.  On her own.  And we all know how well THAT usually works out.

So what’s going on?  Will Betsy ever push the boulder over the edge?  Has she finally reached the tipping point?  Or will the boulder roll back and crush her?

Let’s see…

 

*Betsy stands behind the boulder of her work in progress, hands on the stone* *They are poised on the edge of the cliff of her aspirations* *Betsy does not move* *The boulder does not move* *The cliff does not move*

You don’t have the guts. *The boulder rocks a little*  Do you?  Come on!  Come at me bro!  Are you afraid?

*Betsy shakes her head* I’m not afraid!

Oh yeah?  *The boulder taunts her* Prove it!  We’re on the edge!  You’re sick of me!  You can’t stand me anymore!  But here you are, still tweaking.  *Boulder shakes its backside at Betsy* Well, I’m twerking.  What do you think of that?

I just want to make sure you’re the best you can be!

Sure you do.  *Boulder sneers*.  I’ll never be done.  You’ll never push me over.  That’s the truth, isn’t it? ISN’T IT!

No!

YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

YES, I CAN!  *Betsy shoves the boulder*

Hey!  Well, what do you knoooowwww…..  *Boulder rolls and falls over the side of the cliff of aspiration, tumbling down the path to an editor.

TAKE THAT!  *Betsy dusts off her hands*  Don’t have the guts.  I’ll show you guts!  *Pauses* *Thinks* Wait a minute.  There is that scene…and the dialogue isn’t exactly right in the beginning…and what about character arcs?  Are they strong enough?  Do I have a theme?  Do I have a message?  Is it even worth reading at all?  Wait!  Come back!  You might not be good enough yet!

*Betsy looks over the side of the cliff. Boulder has been swept away by the submission process and is now a small speck in the distance* WAIT!   *Straightens*. Maybe there’s still time.  If I send an email and say I’ve made a mistake, I could—

Or you could just let it go.

*Betsy spins around* Harry!  Where the heck have you been?

Around. *Harry hops forward* *Adjusts waistcoat* *Checks pocketwatch* Well, that only took for freaking ever!  I didn’t think you’d ever kick that thing over the side.

Fine, fine.  Whatever.  *Betsy turns back to the cliff*  I have to go catch that boulder before it gets too much further in the process.

No, you don’t.

I really do.  *Betsy hangs over the edge of the cliff*  See that part there?  That might be a hole or a crack.  And that other part isn’t smooth at all.

You can’t even see it from here.

No, no.  I can see it.  I know what it looks like.

*Harry grabs Betsy’s arm when she would go running off* You don’t know anything.

Of course I do! *Betsy frowns at him* I know every little bit of that boulder.  I hate every little bit of it because I know it so well.

You can’t see it.

Sure I can. *Betsy points* It’s there.

Look, here are the facts.  You can’t see it anymore because you’ve been looking at it for so long.  And because you’ve been looking at it for so long, you think it’s horrible.  But it’s probably not as horrible as you think it is, and it probably doesn’t need as many changes as you think it does.  So you need to just stop messing with it until you hear what the editor says.

*Betsy winces* What if she hates it?  Honestly, I could bring it back and fix—

No!  If she hates it, she hates it and then you’ll have to decide whether or not you believe her.  But either way,  you have to move on.  If you keep holding onto this boulder, it’s only an excuse not to work on any others.

*Betsy chews her lip*  So, let it go?

*Harry nods* Let it go.

And start the next one?

And start the next one.

And don’t worry if there’s a hole or a crack or a crevice?

*Harry shrugs* If there is, you’ll find out soon enough and that’s when you’ll fix it.

And it’s too late anyway because it’s already over the cliff.

Yes.  *Harry beams* Good work.

 

To be continued…

 

 

 

When we last left Betsy, she was busy facing her doubts and fears, pushing the boulder of her work in progress up the mountain of her ambitions.  Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author, is nowhere to be seen.  The Muse is absent, too.  It’s just Betsy and Boulder, mano a mano, as it were.

Now we see that Betsy has finally (FINALLY) reached the top of the mountain of her ambitions, but she has not yet pushed the boulder over the edge.  Instead, Betsy is sitting on a grassy knoll next to her boulder, looking out towards the sunrise of her hopes and dreams.  She appears peaceful and satisfied as opposed to her normal insanity (although she IS talking to a boulder, so there’s that), but one has to wonder why she’s sitting and contemplating instead of pushing.  What in the world is going on now?

Let’s see…

 

*Betsy sits in the soft grass* *Leans back against some rocks* *Looks out at the beautiful sunrise* *Sighs*

What are you doing?  *The boulder, sitting in the grass beside her, appears puzzled* *Well, as puzzled as a boulder can appear*

I’m savoring the fact that I’m done with you, boulder.  *Betsy props her elbow up on the boulder’s craggy side*

What are you talking about?  You still have to finish your final read through.  Then you have to get me cleaned up format-wise and shipped off to an editor. 

Yes, yes.  *Betsy waves it away* But I got you all the way here to the top of the mountain.

You really shouldn’t even be taking the time to write this blog post.  You should be working on me. 

*Betsy frowns over at the boulder* Can’t you just let me enjoy this little victory?

No!  *The boulder appears agitated*  Because it’s not a victory yet!  It’s too early!

*Betsy pouts* Well, when CAN I enjoy it then?

*The boulder rocks in frustration* When you’ve finished!  Once you actually take that last step and push me over the edge of the cliff so I roll wild, roll free.  Until you get to the point in the process where I’m REALLY finished, you’re just procrastinating!  Again!

*Betsy straightens* *Glares* You’re almost at the edge of the cliff, aren’t you?  You’ll be rolling free soon.  I only stopped because I wanted to write a blog post to let people know that I wasn’t sitting alone rocking in a corner.  So sue me if I got a few days behind winterizing the Palatial Horvath Estate and figuring out how to be the most productive.  I’ve actually been working, gosh darn it!

*If a boulder could sigh with resignation, this one would* Fine.  Yes.  But you know as well as I do that this is the most dangerous part of any project.  Right now it’s very easy for you to tell yourself that I’m “almost finished” and not take the final step.  Then I’ll fall to the wayside for weeks!   

*Betsy throws up her hands*  Don’t be ridiculous!  You’ll be finished in two days.  Three tops.  Maybe four.  Unless something else comes up I need to deal with first.  The point is, you’re there.  You’re almost there.  Practically there.  Basically there.  So close I can practically taste it.

Close only counts in horseshoes.  You have to follow through, finish me up, and push me over, for heaven’s sakes!  Chop, chop!  God knows you’re not getting any younger!

All right!  *Betsy scowls* *Pouts* *Lowers her head* *Plucks some grass* *Studies her shoes instead of the beautiful sunrise* Maybe I’m a little concerned.

*The boulder really does sigh this time* Why now?

Because I’ve been writing you, and writing ABOUT you here in the blog for so long.  I might have built up some false expectations.

Look, I’m just an ordinary little boulder. Nothing special. Not a massive War and Peace boulder or anything. I’m a little boulder you wrote for your newsletter subscribers and hopefully I’ll be out in other places eventually, too. But do you see that sunrise? *The boulder tries to gesture*

Yes.

That is the sunrise of your hopes and dreams.  But that sun will never fully come up unless you finish me. 

*Betsy frowns* Now who’s got an ego?

Ego, shmego.  I know that I’m an ordinary little boulder.  Nothing much at all.  But I AM special to you because finishing me is one step closer to that sunrise I’d like to point to and can’t because I don’t have any arms.  Or hands.

*Betsy thinks* And finishing you will be proof to myself that I can finish something again in spite of the year I’ve had.

And proof to yourself that you can create other little boulders to push up other little mountains.

And even if not many people read you, a few of them will and some of them might even like you.

And I’m the first step forward into the dawn of your life as you want it to exist.

And I do have plans for you.  And for the other boulders that come after you and for the boulders that came before you.

And even though we are just little, ordinary boulders, if there are enough of us, we are mighty.

And maybe I have some plans for myself, too.

So? 

*Betsy gets up* *Starts pushing*  Almost there.

 

To be continued…

 

 

When we last left Betsy, she had fallen while trying to climb the hill of her aspirations, tripped by an unexpected mundane world disruption.  This was a disruption she should have seen coming—in fact, she DID see it coming—but she tripped on it anyway.  And when Betsy face-planted on the hill, she dropped the boulder of her work in progress which she had been carrying to the top.  The boulder flew into the air, landed on Betsy’s back, and broke into a hundred pieces.  Fortunately, Harry, Betsy’s Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author / entrepreneur, carries super glue in his pack of essentials.

Now the boulder has been glued back together, but Betsy appears to be alone.  Harry is nowhere to be seen.  The Muse has gone MIA.  Have they finally given up on Betsy and headed off for parts unknown? Is it up to Betsy to get herself off her butt and over the finish line?

Oh, dear.  That can’t be good. 

Let’s see what’s happening…

 

*Betsy sits alone on the hillside next to her super-glued boulder*  *Looks to the east*  *Looks to the west* *Looks to the north and south*  *Nothing*

Hello?

*Hills echo back her cry*  Hellooooooo oooo ooooooo

Harry?

*The hills echo*  Harryyyy yyyy yyyy?

Muse?

Muuuussseeee ssssss ssssss

I’m alone.

Alone…. alone…. Alonnnnneee….

*Betsy chews on her lip for a moment, then gets to her feet*  *She contemplates the hill of her aspirations rising above her* *Contemplates how far she has already come*  *Contemplates the boulder of her work in progress, which looks a little different now that it has been glued together and yet is lovely for all that*

I’m alone, and I have to decide whether or not I want to pick you up again, boulder.  I have to decide if I’ve made a big mistake.  If I’ve been wasting my time.  After all, you were something that was supposed to be written quickly—you weren’t supposed to take nearly this long.  Maybe you’re not worth finishing.

*If a boulder could scratch its ear nonchalantly, this one would*

I mean, yes, I have learned a lot by working on you.  I’ve learned how to plot more efficiently, and I’ll have learned some valuable lessons as I move on to my next full-length novel.  I can’t buy the experience you’ve given me.

*The boulder shrugs, metaphorically speaking, of course*

Maybe that’s all you need to be.  Maybe I don’t have to go to the trouble of finishing you.  Maybe I should start that full-length novel and let you be the way you are until I get around to finishing you sometime later.

*The boulder remains silent*

On the other hand, the top of the hill isn’t that far away.  I’m almost there.  And you were giving me some problems, but when I glued you back together, I saw what I need to do to fix them.  It won’t take too long.

*The boulder rocks back and forth*

But I’ve been wrong before.  You might not be worth the effort it will take to pick you up and carry you to the top.

*The boulder yawns*

Am I afraid to finish?  Is that what this is?  Why in the world would I be afraid to finish?  I’d think I’d WANT to finish and be done.  Why is it always so hard to take the last few steps to the top of the hill?

*If the boulder had a head, it would cock it quizzically*

Maybe it’s because when I finish, I’ll be opening the door and turning you out into the world.  And even though you are a very small boulder, a boulder that’s hardly worth mentioning in the great scheme of life, turning you out into the world means other people will read you and judge you.  They may think you stink, or they may think you’re okay, but either way, you won’t just be mine anymore.  And nobody else will understand you or appreciate you the way I do, because you’re mine.

*The boulder rolls forward*  I’m not yours now.

*Betsy stares at it*  Are you talking to me?  Seriously?

Why not?  You’re talking to me.

*Betsy shakes her head*  I really am nuts.  Okay, boulder, what does that mean?  Of course you’re mine.  I’m the one who built you, and I’m the one who glued you back together when you broke apart.

I’m only real when other people see me too.  Otherwise, I’m just one of your delusions.  For me to be a real boy, er, boulder, you have to let me go, let me go.

*Betsy thinks*. So I should get you to the top of the hill?

Yes.

And then let you go?

Yes. 

I don’t know how many people will see you anyway.

Doesn’t matter.  The point is, as soon as someone else sees me, I’m my own thing.

Maybe that’s what scares me.

*The boulder considers*  Well, I suppose you could leave me here and go back down the hill.  You’ll remember I exist around, oh, never.

I don’t want to do that.

*The boulder shrugs*

What if you suck?

I might suck, but at least I’ll be done.

There is that.  *Betsy thinks*  *Picks up the boulder*  Okay, let’s do this.  It’s just you and me, boulder.

For now.

 

To be continued…

 

When we last left Betsy, she had climbed the first mountain—well, hill—on her road to regaining her lost momentum. Not only that, but the Muse had returned! Everything was coming up roses! Hoorah!

But then the blog went silent for a few weeks, and you know as well as I do THAT’S not a good sign. So now let us rejoin Betsy, struggling writer, Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on Betsy’s Quest to become a successful independent author, and the Muse, who needs no introduction, to find out what’s been going on. Has it been good? Bad? Indifferent? None of the above?

Let’s see…

*Harry and Muse are standing together on the top of a hill* *They are looking up at the slope of an even taller hill, watching Betsy struggle to carry a boulder to the top*

Well, she’s still going. *Harry scratches one of his long ears*

So far. *Muse frowns* *Birds sing* I’ll admit I’m surprised. I didn’t think she’d keep it up.

*Harry squints* Crap. It looks like she’s running into some trouble.

*As if on cue, Betsy suddenly stumbles* *She tries to catch herself and bobbles the boulder she’s been carrying* *Her legs go out from under her* *Her arms flail wildly* *She ends up face down on the hillside* *The boulder she’s been carrying flies into the air, hangs for a split second against the clear blue sky, then crashes down on top of her* *It breaks into several pieces on Betsy’s back, burying her*

Oh, man! *Harry bounces forward, ears upright and alert* She’s down! She’s down! What happened?

*Muse sighs* I was afraid of this.

*Harry turns to her* What? Afraid of what?

Betsy just slammed into an Unexpected Mundane World Disruption.

A UMWD? *Harry spins back around* Are you sure?

Let’s look at the replay. *Muse pulls a tablet computer out from her robes* *Brings up video* *She and Harry huddle over the screen*

See? *Muse points* There’s a crater in the hillside that wasn’t there before. Betsy tries to avoid it, catches her foot, and then face-plants.

How in the world did she miss that? It’s huge! *Harry grabs his ears and pulls* She could see it coming from a mile away if she was paying any kind of attention! In fact, she DID see it. Look. *He points at the video* She started to avoid it, but then she swerved and headed right for the danged thing!

*Muse shrugs* It happens. Sometimes the human knows intellectually the crater is there, but doesn’t think they’ll fall into it. And sometimes they SHOULD know the crater is there, but they’re just not paying enough attention. It’s a miracle the crater didn’t swallow her up again. This was a medium disruption as opposed to what happened earlier in the year.

I guess. *Harry sounds uncertain*

*Suddenly, the hillside shakes* *Clouds form* *Torrents of sugar begin to rain down from the sky*

Oh, man. *Harry pulls out an umbrella and raises it over his head* *Sugar rains until the ground is white around them* She’s going in for the inappropriate eating again.

*Muse sighs and powers down her tablet computer before storing it away in her robes* Well, I won’t be able to get through the interference until her brain clears. You’d better go slap some sense into her. I’ll be back in a couple of days.

How come I’m always the one who has to get her up and moving? *Harry whines*

*Muse looks at him steadily* *Raises an eyebrow*

Sorry, sorry. *Harry bows hastily* *Sugar falls off the top of his umbrella*

*Muse pats his head* Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. *Tugs a silky ear* Take some super-glue. She’ll need to put that boulder back together if she’s ever going to get it to the top of the hill.

Yes ma’am. *Harry watches Muse dissolve into a mist of rainbows and flowers and puppies* *Sighs* *Hops up the hillside to where Betsy lays face-down, buried under pieces of boulder* *Considers her, then pushes some of the pieces of boulder away*

Hey.

*Betsy turns her head to look at him* Ow.

Well, you didn’t go all the way down the rabbit hole this time.

What happened?

*Harry shrugs* An unexpected disruption.

It was a really deep crater. I thought I was going to miss it, but then it’s like my body decided to head right towards it.

But you pulled away at the last minute, so you only tripped and fell. That’s pretty good, right? *Harry tilts his head* Could you cut off the sugar consumption now? There’s no way you’ll be able to pick up the boulder again if your head’s mess up.

Maybe I don’t want to pick up the boulder again. *Betsy pouts*

Yes, you do.

It’s broken, anyway. Maybe I CAN’T pick it up.

I have super-glue. *Harry holds up the tube*

Maybe this is too much trouble.

It’s not too much trouble. It’s just enough.

Maybe I just want to keep eating sugar and forget about everything else.

*Harry tilts his head* Do you really?

*Betsy plucks at the grass* No. *The sugar stops raining from the sky*

Good. *Harry waves a paw and the boulder pieces move to the side* *Reaches down and helps Betsy to sit back up* Then let’s get gluing.

 

To be continued…

 

 

When we last left Betsy, she was pushing a boulder up a hill, struggling to gain some of the momentum she’d lost over the last few difficult and stressful months. Harry, the white rabbit who is the Guide on her Quest to become a successful independent author, was pointing out yet again that she would not be doing herself any favors if she decided to stop, no matter how hard it was to keep going.

Last week the blog was silent again, but was that a good or a bad sign? Is Betsy still struggling to climb her first hill? Did the boulder roll over her and squash her into the ground like a cartoon character? And has the Muse come back yet? Will she EVER come back?

Let’s see…

 

*Betsy sits on the ground in the grass and stares off to the horizon* *She pants and wipes sweat from her brow* *Looks down the hill to the ground far below* *Looks over at the boulder she pushed up the hill with such difficulty* *Pants*

You did it! You did it! *Harry hops around her, puffy white tail waggling with glee* You made it to the top of the hill!

*Betsy nods* It was hard.

*Harry settles on the ground beside her* Yes, but you were able to finish the first draft of the novella you were working on back in March when everything changed. You were able to push through and get it done.

*Betsy shrugs and pulls at some grass* There’s still a long way to go before it’s ready. And I don’t know if it’s any good.

*Harry smacks her hand* That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad at this point. What matters is you finished.

I was kind of blocked on it for a while because of everything that happened. And because I was working on it the morning that…well, you know.

*Harry pats her shoulder* I know.

So it was hard to pick it up again. But I really didn’t have anything else prepared, so I had to go with it.

That was probably a good thing.

*Betsy nods* I guess.

So why are you sitting here? *Harry waves his paws* You need to keep going! You got this stage done, now you have to keep up your momentum and go into editing.

I know. I was just trying to think about what I’ve learned these last two weeks.

*Harry blinks* You learned something?

Don’t be a wise-guy. I can learn things. I can change.

*Harry blinks* You can?

*Betsy frowns* Yes I can! For example, I realized that the reason I wasn’t writing as much as I wanted to was because I wasn’t treating it like work.

Writing isn’t supposed to be work. It’s supposed to be fun.

*Betsy thinks* Is it? Because sometimes it’s not. Fun, I mean. It’s always really, really rewarding and it’s always intense, but it’s not always fun. And see, for the last *mumble mumble* years—

How many years?

Shut up. For the last so many years, I’ve been going to work almost every day at a job working for somebody else. In fact, because I was often working two or three jobs, I would go to work seven days a week. Now, suddenly, I’m not going to work anymore.

*Harry looks confused* Okay.

So I realized I had to treat writing as work. In other words, I had to give it the same respect that I gave to working for other people.

*Harry nods* You had to get into a routine.

Well, yes, but it was more than that. I had to “go to work”. I had to go through the same morning routine that I went through when I was actually going out the door to work. I had to sit down in my office at the same time every day. I had to go to my job every day. Once I started treating it like that, I was able to make progress. But when it was just “something I did”, I couldn’t get there.

“Harry thinks* So you had this thing you love to do, but you didn’t do it effectively until you treated it like a thing you HAVE to do.

I guess.

Humans are strange.

And I learned that I needed to show up in the office every day and work for the time I’d set myself to meet certain objectives I’d set for myself.

That didn’t exactly work this week.

No, but it worked SOME of the week and I’m still learning. I’ll be better next week. Look how I’m actually writing a blog post just like I wanted to do.

*Harry looks out to the blogosphere* *Back to Betsy* Go you!

And there’s more I’m learning. But I figure I’ll be able to write other blog posts about that instead of cramming it all into this one.

*Harry pumps his fists* You are a planning fool!

I know. *Betsy shakes her head* I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Well, I guess you’ll figure it out. Now we’d better get going or all that good work will be for nothing. *Harry gets to his feet* You can’t stop for long or the boulder’s going to get heavy again, no matter how organized you are.

I guess. *Betsy gets to her feet* *Gives the boulder a little push* Where do I go now?

*Harry points*

*Betsy stares* Up there?

*Harry nods*

But that hill is even bigger than this one was!

*Harry shrugs*

I barely made it up here! How am I supposed to get it all the way up to the top of that one!

With a lot of hard work.

And I’ll help.

*Betsy whirls around* Muse! You came back!

*Muse smiles* For now.

 

To be continued…