Rah Rah! Go, Us!

I'm in the mood to do some cheerleading. (Funny, because I was never an actual cheerleader - I went to an all-girls high school and the college I attended didn't focus much on sports back then. This was waaaaaay back in the day.)

But as I get older, I find that as the holiday flurry ramps up, as the year winds down - and the end of NaNo looms large! - we sometimes lose sight of all the creativity and imagination and passion that suffused our year. Instead, we focus on all that we didn't do, all that we didn't accomplish. We feel like failures, losers.

The cheerleading part is coming, I promise!

At the holiday party, no one asks about our recently published work. During Thanksgiving dinner, Uncle Duke thinks the weather is far more interesting than our dreams. Over Christmas eggnog, Aunt Lola declares that writing is so easy - take a class, get an agent, a book deal, make some money. She doesn't care to know what we're talking about - rejection letters? Critique groups? Improving our craft? Pfft.

Yes, okay, okay. Here - finally! - are the words of wisdom I want to share -

"Self doubt. 

Imposter syndrome. 

Modesty that borders on self-deprecation. . . . 

You guys, this has got to stop. 

We have to stop talking down about ourselves 

just because we're afraid that others might beat us to it. 

We have to start celebrating our successes and strengths 

even though we still have failures and flaws. 

We have to be unabashedly awesome in all the ways that we are. 

We don't owe anyone a disclaimer for believing in ourselves. . . .

Because you are amazing, and you can do this." 

(Annie Neugebauer)

Let's not let anyone else tell us different.

Let's not let anyone else make us think otherwise.

Go, us!

(Pfft. Who needs pom-poms?)

Maybe More Than a Little

Last week, a local theater ran the original Psycho. In honor of Halloween and the start of another NaNoWriMo, my husband and I went. We'd seen Psycho before but not on a big screen, not in a roomful of people with their own reasons for going. Soon, we were all lost in another time, another place. 

That's pretty much what happens to me during November - I get lost in a world of my own making. I look up from my keyboard and have to blink a few times to situate myself. I walk out of my office and catch a glimpse of a character running down the hall, darting into another room. I have to ask my poor husband to repeat his question a third time because I'm busy trying to figure out how - or if! - my protagonist will manage to kill the creature lurking in the shadows.

I am not easy to live with during the best of times, but November brings its own special kind of Hell for my long-suffering, patient husband. So, while we were watching Psycho, a particular scene made me laugh out loud because I'm pretty sure it sums up what my husband thinks of me during NaNoWriMo. (Okay, maybe he feels this way all the time, but he's too nice to say it.) 

"IT'S NOT LIKE [SHE'S] A MANIAC 

OR A RAVING THING.

SHE JUST GOES A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES.

WE ALL GO A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES.

HAVEN'T YOU?"

(Norman Bates)

*****

Do you wig out (pun intended!) during NaNoWriMo? Or when you're deep into a creative project? How does your spouse/significant other/support team handle you? Do you do anything to thank them when - if?! - sanity returns?

IWSG: It's All in the Attitude

For More Information

In October's IWSG post, I mentioned being anxious about participating in my first ever 5K. I asked for advice and encouragement, and you all stepped up and cheered me on so much and so loudly, I felt like I could actually hear you all as I ran (and that was even over my whining and desperate gasping for air!) Thank you all so much! I appreciate it more than you know.

The end results were not as good as I'd hoped. I didn't run nearly as much of it as I wanted, and it was a lot harder than I'd thought. But I finished the entire thing - something I wouldn't have been able to do in recent years - so I'm counting it as a win. 

Do you know what else I'm counting as a win? The fact that I'm still exercising, still training. I even signed up for another 5K (that sound you hear is the "dreadmill" cackling maniacally - bwahaha!) I'm not giving up - on losing weight, on writing, on dreams.  

Don't you give up either. Whatever it is you're working on - your health, NaNo, learning something new, dealing with a difficult situation - Keep. Going. 

I am. You can, too.

*****

Participant Medal and T-Shirt from the 5K

A Gift from My Husband

Cheerleader . . . or Troublemaker?

I still haven't decided yet if this is Larry's way of cheering me on from his "rooftop" this NaNoWriMo or if he's just causing trouble and trying to get attention.

Ah, it doesn't matter. He's a cutie either way. (And so is Mrs. L, although her support is much more subtle and ladylike.)