When you are writing, sometimes you lose sight of the target
There are many times when writing isn’t terribly dissimilar to flying down the trench of the Death Star in Star Wars, TIE Fighters in pursuit, your wingman getting scared.
“It’s no good, I can’t maneuver!”
“Stay on target.”
“We’re too close!”
“Stay on target.”
“Loosen up!”
**BOOM**
When writing, the BOOM is not you getting blown up by Darth Vader, but it might be your head exploding from the process. Excellent, you weren’t vaporized.
Still, it can be infuriating.
No matter the distractions, the issues, or whatever other reasons you are having trouble completing your work, stay on target. With persistence and drive you are capable of firing that torpedo down the shaft and blowing up the Death Star. You can finish whatever you are writing.
The fate of the galaxy may not be riding on your back, but your faith in yourself likely is.
You are not your writing
Despite everything I put into all the work that I do as a writer, I am not my writing. Recognizing this might be how I am able to switch gears and shift between writing sci-fi and fantasy, inspirational self-help articles, political rants, website content, and other business-specific materials.
That’s not to say that I don’t put my heart and soul into my work. I do. But the work, once it has left me is no longer me.
In the SCA I am a court herald. That means that regularly I stand beside the Crown and call people into their court to receive awards. Those awards generally come with a scroll, which I read to the people assembled. However, there are times no scroll is present.
I then get to create what we call a “Zen” scroll. Look at that, a chance to use my improv theatre skills. I make up words to tell the people assembled why the person before the crown is getting the award they are getting.
Often, someone asks me for my words so that they can use them in the scroll. Trouble is, once I have said them they tend to be gone. If you didn’t record it I likely do not recall exactly what I said.
When I put the words to the screen or page the same thing applies. I am not my writing even though my writing is a part of me. The disconnect is necessary because your overall sense of self goes beyond what you do, whether that’s your job or a hobby.
Being aware of this can help you stay on target. How? By knowing your words serve something beyond you.
Target within and without
When I write, no matter the genre, there is something inside of me that I have to get out there. Much of what I create I share, whether online, in a blog, or within a book.
There are things that I write that I don’t share. Letters to people that they will never see in order to release hurt, anger, frustration, and what-have-you, as well as personal journals. For me, writing is extremely cathartic. It’s an instinct, it’s not just my work by how I best express all the stuff inside my head.
And that’s part of staying on target. The initial target is inside me. There is something that has to get out. Sometimes I am not fully sure of just what that is before I start to write it. There is an incomplete, unformed idea in my head that has to get out. The first target is within.
Once my work makes its way to the page or screen now I have a new target. Sometimes it’s my own edification. But mostly it’s about you. My words are meant to have some impact or other on you. Maybe they are inspirational, informative, educational, or simply entertaining.
I even accept that my words might be used by you to NOT do as I do. To be a lesson you use to avoid taking a path like mine or doing what I write about.
Whatever the case may be, it is up to me to stay on target and finish what I start.
Mindfulness and writing
The act of writing is an act of mindfulness.
How? Because you are aware of what you are thinking, and that in turn makes you aware of what and how you are feeling. Then, you act by taking that and writing. The action is putting the words to the page or screen and getting it out of your head.
The things I write may be influenced by any number of things I have watched, read, or listened to. Because writing is an instinct for me, my thoughts and feelings churn the input and often create my own spin on it, and/or take inspiration from it for my own creations.
Writing is an act of mindfulness because when you write you are totally, completely, and consciously present in the now. So much so that you may get lost in the moment as the words fly from your head to your fingers to the page or screen.
With tenacity, drive, and effort you can keep sight of the target and complete your work. When you recognize that you are not your writing, the target is both within and without, and writing is a mindfulness practice, you can blow up the Death Star (finish your work) and get the medal (share it – or not).
Don’t be afraid to stay on target and finish what you begin.
Thank you for taking part in my ongoing journey. Thank you for joining me, and for inspiring me and my words.
This is the forty-second entry of my personal writing blog. Please take a moment to check out the collection of my published works, which can be found here.
Feel free to explore the rest of the website, which I am working to evolve and change for the better…much like I am doing for myself. Also, visit Awareness for Everyone to check out my weekly podcasts.
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