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January 19: You Do You, Writing Frustrations, and Friends

 Just to note: my goal was to write a post a day.  Some days I will double up, or triple up. Today is one of those days.

A friend and I have been emailing back and forth about the frustrations of writing.  She is about to publish her first book a memoir about riding her bicycle in every state and her adventures at that. I am having trouble focusing as I face retirement from 47 years in higher education.  

She wrote this morning:  

One of my good friends keeps telling me, "you do you." 
Tonight I pass those words of wisdom on to you. "You do you." 
Ultimately, it doesn't seem you need to make a living with your writing. You've made your living teaching in the classroom. So if you write because you like to write, then write what you want to write. Find your joy in the process. Yes, everyone would like to make a little money from their books, but that doesn't happen for most writers. So, I say to both of us, let us write what we want to write. If we sell a few books and get a few positive reviews we will call it good. For now, focus on finishing up at Dalton State strong and enjoy your last few months. Maybe one day you will get recognized for what you do, but in the meantime, You do you. Enjoy the process. 
Wishing you the best,

If writing is my desire, calling, and gift, then that is all that matters and I must embrace the process and stop whining about my inability to get this next book done. Ironically, this next one is about spirituality and stress, and I am stressing myself out in an unspiritual way!  

Another barbed wired fence I am facing is that I think of writing as producing books.  That is probably not healthy, or even necessary. This is writing, what I'm doing right now.  All writing, most writing, doesn't have to end in a book.  In fact, perhaps it shouldn't.  

Heaven knows there are enough books in this world! It's a big like my garden last summer. I put so much work into it, as well as resources, and got very little: a few pitiful cucumbers, a handful of puny tomatoes, and several "messes" of okra (at least).  I made an error or two that ended up with very little produce.  Other times I have planted gardens where I produced enough to give away, so I do know how to do this.  I don't want to work on a book that is sub-par just because I wanted to put another one out.  As Annie Dillard says, I don't need to choke the world with another book.  We need to bless the world with a worthy book.  

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