This is going to seem strange, but stay with me, it’ll make sense in the end.
I have a few cats. And, they know things. Not just anything, but specifically, they know jiu-jitsu. Seriously. Since I haven’t managed to get video of this, here’s someone else’s cats practicing this art.
This rolling, plotting, and planning is exactly what it takes to be a successful writer. Okay, mostly you’re fighting your own demons, but for some writers, that battle is real. It’s easy to find all sorts of distractions when you should be writing. Suddenly, the pile of laundry you’ve ignored for days, has to be cleaned. Your kitchen needs to sparkle and shine. The list grows.
But, like jiu-jitsu, writing is about the long game. It takes patience, practice, and a few mistakes to make someone a successful writer/published author. When you understand the principles of jiu-jitsu, chess, Hapkido, or any other art that requires strategy, then all you need to do is apply them to your writing career. And, then have heaps of:
This is where I struggle. I’m generally not a patient person. Several years ago, I devoted an entire year to becoming more mindful of this. Sadly, I didn’t really improve. Even practicing yoga didn’t help! (That’s as close to meditation as I can get.)
So, what’s a writer to do? I don’t know. In the meantime, my plan is to spread glue on a chair in my kitchen, and have a seat. Heck, that might even help me develop more patience.
