On not giving up (and jeans shopping)

If you’re at all like me, you know about The Gap. Um, NOT the store, although you’ve likely heard of that, too. The gap I’m talking about is that place in between what you can imagine and what you can create. We find ourselves there when our vision for our story is ^{UP HERE} but our writing ability currently seems to be _{down here.}  (See also: The Abyss of Suckitude.)

A couple things can happen while we’re languishing in The Gap (again, not the store… if you’re languishing in The Gap store, please see the italicized options included below).

1. We can get frustrated, think we’ll never be any good, and quit (we can get frustrated, think we’ll never find jeans that make our butt look good, and quit); or
2. we can keep learning, growing, trying, all the while letting our vision inspire us (we can get frustrated, decide our butt looks just fine thank you very much, and buy the damn jeans).

I’m thinking option 2 is the better choice, yes? Cuz if we quit, we’re right – we never will be any good (no matter what our butt looks like). But if we keep reaching higher, pushing ourselves to get better, the gap will narrow. (Okay, seriously, the jeans analogy needs to stop. So not going there….)*

Over on Careann’s Musings, Carol (my mom) posted a great video about trying and falling short — worth checking out! And in case you need a reason to head to the library or bookstore (ha! like you need a reason), good books can help close the gap. Read them both to learn and to be inspired!

Happy writing….

* Clearly, I should not be allowed to compose blog posts when I’m tired. Forgive me.

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