Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Inside Me


You know how that poem goes, don't know the author, it may not be even a poem but it has always resonated with me:
"Inside my winter there is an endless summer?"
or something like that.

I tailor such quotes to fit my own brain.

Well, inside me there is this 3 year old. She doesn't 'adult' well. I love how "adult" has now become a verb, much like many other words. I remember Grandgirl saying to me one time" "Oh Grandma, don't harsh my mellow". Loved the phrase, adapted it for my own use.

So I work madly on this 2,000 word article/essay request that came in, I loved the process, even the intense editing involved and I submitted it. And, and, and, the editorial team send me individual emails raving about it.

I mean what do real adults do when this kind of response is elicited? Sit quietly, I imagine and get cracking on their next oeuvre? Sounds very mature and responsible and grown-up, right?

Me? I race around the house and then out to the meadow a la Rocky pumping the fists and then I PM Daughter and Grandgirl. A humble brag. And then run around again, just for the hell of it.

Each time a piece of my writing is well received, I can't believe the feeling I get. That crayoning 3 year old escapes and races around in delirious excitement.

I observed similar in an author friend today who's been nominated for a major award. "57 congratulatory emails and climbing", he sez, "And I'm sitting outside a small convenience store at the edge of nowhere, syphoning their wifi, unable to leave in case I might miss another."

May this feeling never leave me, may it encourage me and sustain me.

Amen.

21 comments:

  1. Wonderful news! and no surprise to me that editors would be raving about your work. I'd like to have a reason to do a "happy" dance, myself. It's been a while.

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    1. One of these days, SJG, for you too. I'd lost all creativity as you know, my very soul abandoned me and for it to return gives me incredible joy.

      XO
      WWW

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  2. How wonderful! Praise is wonderful when deserved, as your's clearly is. And yes, I know the feeling well, of wanting to show something like that, sometimes it's pride, sometimes it's just 'hell yes!' when it goes right. Been more than a few years since I've felt it, but I remember it well.
    Good for you....you go, girl.
    Mike

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    1. I know Mike, it's so rare, we can slave in the trenches with out bits of creativity and our own validations ring a little hollow, right?
      The initial euphoria on this piece has left me now and my work goes out to the wider world today and then (hopefully) into an anthology before 2016 is over.
      Thank you!
      XO
      WWW

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  3. Well done. That is excellent news!
    Keep going!
    Maggie x

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  4. Sit quietly and get cracking on their next oeuvre? What a very dull and lifeless reaction. Racing around and fist-pumping is much more natural and much more appropriate.

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    1. I wonder Nick. I sorta like the idea of my author friend sitting alone in his car counting messages. I'll see the kind of reaction my piece gets today on line in a closed group.
      XO
      WWW

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  5. A writer friend and I share our writing triumphs with each other first because we know we'll each respond with outlandish exuberance. We're usually responding via email, and we employ the the usually disdained all caps and multiple ending punctuation marks, not afraid to seem silly. So, HURRAH!!!!!! YOU DESERVED IT!!!! I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE APPRECIATED YOUR WRITING THE WAY IT DESERVED!!!!

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    1. Normally exclamation marks annoy me as they're so overused. One friend on FB puts 4 at the end of each sentence and she writes a whole pile. But hey, when it comes to congratulations, there's no limit!!!!
      XO
      WWW

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  6. Rolling around in my undies with some really upbeat music and laughing...Best to you!

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  7. Yes!!!!! We do have to pose as humble, but deep down we know how good we are, and when we get some acknowledgement, it's happy dance time!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. I know Hattie, we're all so darned afraid to be real with each other.

      XO
      WWW

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  8. You go girl!

    I'm guessing that the line you're thinking of is one of my favourites too - from Camus,

    'In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer.'

    xxx

    Pants

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    1. That's it, I was too lazy to climb on to google. I so love this. I need reminders.
      Thanks my friend.
      XO
      WWW

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  9. Turn cartwheels darlin'. Set off fireworks, and run naked with no knickers if that's what it takes to celebrate fully! (Though Lord knows you might freeze the naughty bits) Maybe it takes a writer to understand that "praise" usually comes in the form of a cheque, which is high praise indeed, but to have someone actually *praise* your work is enough to make you keel over in a dead faint of happy. That would keep me two feet off the ground for weeks. {{{WWW}}}

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