Tarzan Steps In
Write On
Unless you’re losing weight, I don’t know how to measure progress with writing. Unless, of course, you publish a book, and people start buying it. So, how else?
You could measure your eagerness or reluctance to write something and try to get that needle up to the eager part of the scale. I’m not talking about something that is assigned to you. I’m talking about the stuff that makes you curious whether it results in something or not. I think that your writing muscles need to be exercised just like a pro athlete goes about the business of training for whatever sport they are participating in. The training part is the part nobody ever sees. It’s the event or, in our cases, the finished book that the public sees.
Do you think Johnny Weissmuller dreaded the thought of flinging himself into the water to swim five miles? Or that he cringed at the thought of racing around a track? No, in fact, he may have been the best Tarzan there ever could be. Rest in peace.
What do you think I’ve been doing? I’m a coach up here. Also, I still love to run and swim.
Hi. Do you mind being in my story?
No, of course not. Do you want to run around some?
You do realize who you’re talking to.
She jests. As we call her up here, Miss Pauline used to love to run around a lot.
Are you being rude?
No, not at all. Even though you did do that, too.
No secrets. No privacy as a channel.
Nope. Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to tell people?
Well, yes, but it isn’t that bad. You get used to it.
I think you need to get used to the idea of somebody not liking what you’ve been writing.
Maybe so.
Grudgingly, she says.
Yes, you’re right. I guess I’m thin-skinned.
You definitely took your time introducing yourself as a psychic.
Well, yes. How do you walk into your boss’s office and tell him his dog doesn’t like to run about the lake with him?
You did do that, didn’t you?
Yes. It was embarrassing. He said he carried her a lot of the way anyway.
Did he fire you?
No. Eventually, I began to bet on his phone calls.
What do you mean?
I’d say, “That’s the boss,” when the phone would ring. Lots of times, it was him.
Perhaps he was the only one who called.
No, there were lots of people calling. In fact, almost ten years after I retired, I’m still hearing phones ringing. It’s just my ears, but it’s distracting as anything. I think I’m experiencing office PTSD.
You could be. Think you could file for a work-related injury?
No. That’s silly.
Some people would think it was legitimate.
I hope I haven’t given anybody the idea to do that. I also have excessive gas. Do you think that could be work-related?
No, I don’t think so. What else do you want to talk about?
Well, the idea of this piece was how to measure progress with a writing career.
Might I make a suggestion?
Yes, please.
Treat it as if it were a job. You know the basics for a job is to show up on time. Do that. It’s 9 am and you are writing. You continue writing until 1 pm, and then you have the opportunity to go and do other things.
You’re right. I need to put a stopping point to get cracking on the 2023 finances and get them done.
How long do you think it would take to finish them up?
I’ve got a little more than two months to do. And I need to finish our tax lady’s questionnaire, all 25 pages of it.
Fine, your life hasn’t changed all that much from the year before. Find the one you submitted for 2022 and start winding this up. It shouldn’t take you more than eight hours to go through two month’s worth of statements and enter them into QuickBooks. Think of the freedom you will feel after that is out of the door. Also, you’ll probably get a refund, and the faster you get this done, the faster you will get some money back.
Okay, I’m pumped. Thank you.
You are welcome.
So, today I’ll write. I also owe a March article to Mary at PencilStubs.com. Usually, I like to get it to her two weeks before the month starts. I’ve got one day to get one to her. Yikes. That crept up fast. At least we’ve got an extra day in February this year.
Make it magic.
If you’ve ever read some of my channeled pieces, you will know that I put Spirit’s part in a bold italics font. I have to admit I’ve always been a sucker for Johhny Weissmuller, so that was nice he showed up today.
Please, write on whether anybody reads it or not. It’s that great connection you have between your brain and your mouth, or fingers in our case as writers, that counts. In fact, you could begin every writing session with a 15-minute fast writing job just to warm up some. Actually, that sounds pretty good. I’ll have to try it out.
Thanks for reading.
The Links: More about Johnny Weissmuller