Diving In

So here’s a swimming analogy for ya…

I’m standing at the edge of a pool. It’s not the warmest day but it’s heating up. I’ve already dipped the toes in. The water’s f&%$ing freezing. I now know that I am distracted. I’m distracted by what’s in the pool but once I’m in, it’s what is outside the pool that will provide the distraction…If at all. Once I’m in that water and the body has acclimatised I know I will enjoy it. The desire to get out may not eventuate. A few laps and the circulation is good. I’m happy where I am. I won’t get out of the water until I am truly content I have made the most of that swim.

A starting point for any writer.

Immersing yourself in a writing project can be a daunting prospect or at least initially that’s how it seems. As time goes on with each new project perhaps a writer is less about ‘see what happens’ and more about ‘perfection’ in the early stanzas of a work. With so much emphasis placed on the first lines, opening paragraph or initial pages it would be easy to try and put too much into your beginnings where perhaps a casual, even-paced start would serve others better. If a steady start is your modus operandi then I wouldn’t go changing that necessarily.

I would suggest writers block would affect some who have exhausted themselves in those initial stages and left themselves bereft of important details that were exposed too early. While I can’t identify with this halting of the process at the halfway mark, I can resonate with those who hesitate at the beginning of a new work. You can only look at the giant roadblock that is the submissions process to know that your natural creative flow will be slowed at some point. While the lucky can send rough drafts to desperate and eager hands knowing other works can be continued, the rest of us must hone query letters, synopsis and market arguments. But just know when to break away from its repetitive nature. To spend too long on that process can be a hindrance. Just think of the words ‘submissions process’ embroidered on a nice warm fluffy towelling robe…

I discard my robe and close my eyes. I don’t listen to those voices calling me from the house or the phone ringing. One foot is already hovering over the water and the other will follow just as soon as it has propelled me. I am tensed as I wait in mid-air at the top of the arc. It’s pleasant this moment before gravity kicks in and then I’m in. It’s sharp, it’s surprising and It’s bloody cold. It takes the breath away but it’s refreshing. I’m in and I’m on my way. Then I hear laughing….

…It’s Dan Brown and Stephanie Meyer in the Jacuzzi. Oh no!!! E.L. James has just stripped off and got in with them. Now she’s flashing me.

Everybody out of the Pool!!!