Here it is, the last May post of 2016. Overall I feel pretty good about how things went this year. I was talking with someone today about how writing a daily post each day is similar to NaNoWriMo, in that I’d need to show some progress on the project each day. In some ways it’s even more difficult, though; when you’re scrambling to write a book in a month, you at least have a pretty good idea as to what the book is supposed to be about. For daily posts like this, you need to think up a new topic each day. And they don't always show up gift-wrapped and ready to go.
To close off the month, I decided to take a little time for reflection. I started the month with the idea of linking these posts together as a loose narrative, telling the story of how I tried to fight my way out of teacher burn-out while a fairly dramatic spring trimester at school would be winding down. Thankfully I pulled out of that feeling, even if it meant the narrative I’d planned wouldn't be as cohesive as I’d originally thought. All the same though, I think some interesting ideas came up along the way:
*Being burned out is largely a choice you make. I think it’s safe to say everyone feels tired and frustrated by their jobs on occasion, and we’re all susceptible to sympathetic pain when we see the people in our lives going through difficult times. But we all get to choose how we react to whatever it is we feel.
*Music is a great way to get through the bad times.
*Honest appreciation is a wonderful thing. However it doesn’t come by that often, so it’s important to soak it up when it does. You’ll need it to remind yourself why you put up with all the frustrating and tiring things in the first place.
*It’s important to stay open to advice, particularly if it comes from sources you know and trust.
*Stay in touch with your personal history. Who you are now is very much connected to who you once were.
*Loyalty matters a lot — at least to me.
*Chuck Klosterman’s book Fargo Rock City is a benchmark work for the music fans of my generation, whether they realize it or not.
*Even when life seems to be going out of its way to kick the crap out of you, there are still good things happening. If you can find your way to recognize those things, they can help you achieve a sense of inner balance.
*Recognizing and acknowledging that you have a multifaceted personality and realizing different people will define you based on what they experience about you can go along way in how you build your relationships.
*As long as their choices don’t hurt anyone else, people should be proud to claim the things in their lives that make them happy.
*It could still be a very long time, if ever, before I even consider getting another dog.
*Even if I only have a toe-hold in the world of publishing and noticeable progress can seem painfully slow to build, I have made progress, and I’m still making it. And it’s worth being excited about.
*Friendships that develop based on proximity or convenience are no less valid than any other friendships, but they can be more difficult to maintain over time and separation.
*Everything about the coming year promises to be big.
One of the main reasons I write all of these posts in May is to give my Writer Brain a jump start before rolling into summer vacation. I’ll admit that unless I have a specific writing task in front of me that I feel responsible for, it can become too easy to let everything to do with school sap up my mental energy during the spring. (Wouldn’t it be magical if I didn’t have to think about allocations like this, and just WRITE???) Taking a month to force myself back into a strong and regular writing routine is a great way to prepare for all the time off I’m about to have. Things seem to naturally fall into place once the routine comes back; I even spent most of my Memorial Day weekend working on line edits for one of the manuscripts. Knowing I’ve got a summer ahead of me that will be like much of this past weekend was seems like great fun: randomly recording notes on my phone while I’m out in the world; taking an hour to tweak two or three paragraphs; pacing around the house talking to myself while I try to figure my way though some writing problem I'm struggling with, and keeping at it until it's solved. Which is probably why I willingly spend so much time doing this — because it feels so good when I get it right.
If you were one of the loyal readers who followed my posts even semi-regularly throughout the month — thanks! It always helps to know there’s an audience. The same really goes to all the people who have read or are waiting to read one of the manuscripts floating around. Writing doesn’t exist in a vacuum of course, and readers are needed to bring it all to life.
And on that note, I'm going to hit the 'publish' button up in the corner and bring the month to an end, which will also mean I'll be pulling back on the posting frequency for awhile. Plus with summer only weeks away, I have a new project I need to start putting together, which means that even if you aren't seeing daily blog posts gumming up your news feed anymore, the writing will continue. In fact, there will probably be even more of it going on.
And just wait until you see what’s on the way....
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