By Monday mid-afternoon, I had hit my goal of writing and scheduling my weekly blog posts through August. And it was only the end of April. If I keep this up, I’ll have the rest of the year’s posts completed by the end of May, I thought. Four weeks later, I had written and scheduled posts through the first two months of the new year. Talk about a writer’s state of mind!
Why the rush? I learned a long time ago that you never know what’s coming your way. As a national magazine freelance writer barely making ends meet, I couldn’t afford to turn down a writing gig just because I’d put off completing a prior assignment. So, I cranked out each commitment as soon as I got a signed contract.
Freelance habits die hard. Money may not be as tight as it once was, but time continues to be a challenge for all of us. So, I’ve kept up the habit of writing when I can. Right now, for example, I know that I will be called upon to help a writer with her book proposal as soon as she frees up and that an editing job that got postponed will probably resurface in the next few weeks. A book project that would challenge me in brand new ways is also loitering about. Those are just the potential projects I’m aware of. Who knows what else is lurking out there, aside from the children’s book series I’ve put off writing for decades?
Shortly after the title of this post came to me, music followed. Billy Joel’s music, to be exact. When I looked up the lyrics to “New York State of Mind,” I realized that the end of the second stanza couldn’t be more perfect:
… But I know what I’m needing
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/billyjoel/newyorkstateofmind.html
And I don’t want to waste more time
I’m in a New York [substitute: writer’s] state of mind
I wish more aspiring authors would adopt that writer’s state of mind. Life has a way of getting in the way, a lesson we have all learned in the last 18 months. If writing is a priority, you need to jump in and do it when the opportunity presents itself.
So, ask yourself. How much of a priority is writing? If it’s important to you, make sure you get it done whenever you can. If you’re not doing that, then you also have to ask yourself whether how you’re approaching your writing is working for you. If you’re fine with the pace, then great. If you’re not, change how you prioritize your life. Either way, here’s to getting into that writer’s state of mind.
Sing it with me: “I’m in a writer’s state of mind.”
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