Guardrails

The view from here is lovely—terrifying but lovely. 

Anyone who isn’t crazy about heights will agree: the more impressive the view, the more thankful you are for the short wall that keeps you from plummeting to your death.  Heather McGovern and I have an ongoing joke about guardrails.  Here are a few of our favorites…

Niagara Falls - Now, that's a good looking guardrail!  Notice the sturdy metal construction.

The Grand Canyon - Glass?!?! I think not.

Hoover Dam - Oooh, is that concrete?  Very nice guardrail!

All of our jokes of our appreciation for railings made me think about other “guardrails” we have in life.  For me, my guardrails are my friends.  Over the past year I’ve been in some scary locations: my mom’s prolonged illness and then her passing, Mr. Alpha Male’s struggles regarding work, my fall down the stairs and subsequent broken back and now my career jumping to the next level as an agented writer seeking publication.  Seriously scary stuff!  Through everything my friends have supported me and kept me from sliding down the slippery slope I seem to live beside.  (Insert giant THANK YOU here.) I’m not sure how many supportive text messages, sweet emails, emergency coffee chats or hugs I’ve received; but I assure you the numbers would be staggering. 

On some level, doesn’t everyone live beside their own version of a steep drop off? There are many overlooks gazing down upon—perhaps death is a bit dramatic—but devastation has many forms and we’ve all experienced a few of them.  Life is frightening sometimes, yet I’ve found there are always guardrails to be found.  Cling to the railing and soon the path won’t seem so daunting.  And when you’re at the peak of the mountain, don’t forget to enjoy the view!

What are your guardrails? 

Where there's a will there are lots of ways

In the midst of finding and attaining a new job, all the training, and a pick up truck load of personal drama - I've somehow found the time to write the first two chapters (albeit shoddily) of one WIP and plot out another co-authored WIP.  How?  Because I was determined to make it happen. 

I don't blog about this to toot my own horn, but hopefully lend inspiration to other writers.  I was certain that in the midst of April's anarchy, my writing would suffer.  Yes, there were several days of a writer's Sahara, but overall, I got it done.  I eeked out time on my lunch break, made plot notes on my iphone, wrote dialogue on post-its as I sat on hold - you get the idea.  I'm committed to getting this writer gig off the ground and with a full time job and family, it's going to take some ingenuity and improvisation.  Luckily I'm good at improv.  I say this as I pound out a blog post during the last few minutes of my lunch break!  AND as I see they've revamped Blogger.  Hopefully this won't come out as a bunch of code or directions to the nearest rest stop.

My point is, if you're an aspiring writer or any kind of writer, get stuck in!  Don't hesitate to squeeze in writer time the moment it arises.  Don't be scared to step out of the "I need an hour of quiet time and my Yanni CD to focus" box.  If you commit, you'll get results.  It might be results that need some seeeerious editing, but it's something.  Best of luck to you all!