It’s Day IDK anymore

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It’s Day IDK anymore of COVID-19 shelter in place/work from home for me. I realize this experience is as different for each of us as who we are. Some people, utility workers, grocery store workers, food chain employees, truckers, etc., must still go to work, hopefully in as safe as possible environments. Some, like those in the medical field and public safety service, etc., must go to work despite the fact that their environments and/or interactions are most definitely not safe. I am grateful to be able to work from home and to have a home from which to work.

Because of the nature of the work I do, I am still employed and still very engaged with my work colleagues.

And I am appreciative.

There are many people who are lonely and isolated and afraid. (I hope you are reaching out to the people you know and checking in.)

This situation, this major paradigm shift, has required an equally major mental adjustment. The way we see the world has changed because the world has changed. I am lucky to be in the position of rolling pretty well with this upheaval.

That said, as a Grants Professional, my day job right now is a lot like drinking from a fire hose.

All. Day. Long.

What that means for my writing is that I am using up a lot of my focus and energy on deep work during the day, which leaves little bandwidth left for creativity. Not that I wasn’t already struggling with my current WIPs prior to the pandemic. (But that’s another story.)

So, what have I been doing to try and break through all of this and get my butt back into the writing chair?

Well, a few months back, I started on the path to becoming a certified Book Coach through Author Accelerator. Since I already provide editorial services and mentoring for writers, it makes sense to formalize that and put some structure around it. It’s a ton of work, but it’s work that suits me, and it excites and feeds my passion for books and writing and supporting other writers in honing their craft and finishing and polishing their stories. I am about 90% of the way through the course and looking forward to finishing. (Thank you, Jennie Nash!)

Meanwhile, I have also continued to improve my knowledge of craft and all things book related. I have subscribed to and am listening to more podcasts, including #amwriting (highly recommended) and watching a multitude of Ted Talks.

As a life-long learner, this is nothing new for me, but this ongoing learning process has been amplified and expedited by the requirements of the Book Coaching coursework, and I am now seeing what I learn through a new lens. I am now seeing how these tools can benefit specific writers that I am currently working with as well as potential book coaching clients in the future.

And, in an interesting turn, I am once more feeling like a writer, that I do have more stories to share, that my characters, while patient, won’t wait forever for me to get back to them. And that they, and my readers, deserve my focus and energy. So, in the midst of all of this, I #amwriting again. (Finally!)

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