One Bite At A Time

Years ago when working in a training environment I did the Belbin test for the first time and discovered that I don't have a “completer finisher” bone in my body!

I think it has a lot to do with my self-diagnosed ADD (that’s a tale for another time!) and the fact that there are so many interesting things to be doing in the world.  I'm always looking for the next project and challenge before I've finished the last one. 

I knew, therefore, that this would be a particular challenge with writing a book and may be a large part of why I naturally veer towards writing children's and young adult fiction (they’re shorter!).

Despite only being in the middle of the second draft of my manuscript (and having recently learned that 7 drafts is "normal", noooo!!), my mind is already wandering off thinking about potential story lines for future books in the series, as well as possible scenarios for YA books!  It’s tempting to do some work on those but I’m never gonna get this book finished if I do. 

Recently I was amazed to discover that a friend of mine had never heard the saying/joke:

"How do you eat an elephant? 

One bite at a time." 

Fantastic illustration attributed to Sean Gallo at www.seangallo.com

It’s the daily guiding principle of my life (aside from my relationship with God, of course!)!!  Taking things one bite - or step - at a time is the only way I get anything done, especially when I’m overwhelmed by an impossible to-do list or a project that seems too big.  It’s also how I got through my depression on a daily basis (and still do in the low patches). In all things I’ve learnt to focus on the goal and press on towards that, one step at a time.

It’s actually how we function all the time, we’re just not aware of it.  If I want to get from this desk to the kitchen to get a drink then I have to put one foot in front of the other.  Most of the time I don’t think twice about it.  But if I had an injury that made walking difficult then each step would be a challenge and I would have a greater sense of achievement when I finally made it to the kettle than I usually do :-D

When things are tough we’re more aware of each step but it’s important to recognise that it’s still movement forward and celebrate that.  

The initial writing of my manuscript felt easy and fairly instinctive – like a normal walk to the kitchen - as I just let the ideas and story gush out.  Editing a manuscript is much more challenging as there are so many different major and minor elements that need analysing and adjusting – each step is a real effort and needs serious application from me.  Some days I wonder if I’ll actually manage to produce a polished finished manuscript that’s ready to submit to a literary agent.

However if I keep chipping away at it, not letting the enormity of the task overwhelm me but take it one addition/deletion/tweak at a time, then I have much more confidence that I will get there….one day :-)