We all need to feel like we’re making progress as writers. We all need to feel like something is HAPPENING on the page, something worth plugging away at and having faith in. All too often, though, it’s easy to get lost in the doldrums, stuck and berating oneself. (Or, as Hyperbole and a Half so aptly calls it, oppressing oneself with hatred.)
For instance, today, I’m trying not to berate myself for posting a rerun of Toon Thursday–a relatively pertinent rerun, but still…on a day when I’m already not feeling all that great (boo allergies! boo drama in other people’s lives! boo boo!), instead of giving myself a break, my first instinct is to kowtow to my inner critic, letting her get under my skin. And, admittedly, I do have an idea for a new cartoon, but it’s still lost in that forest of Post-It notes you see in the cartoon. (That is, I’m sorry to say, true to life.)
Sometimes I can use bribery to get myself going: If I put my butt in chair and work for an hour, I can take a coffee and book break. If I work for 30 minutes, I can have a piece of chocolate. Sometimes the inner critic actually DOES shame me into productivity. But sometimes, like today, I need to remember that we all need kindness, too. And so I’ll make a cup of tea, and open a book, and let the work wait a few minutes. And I promise a new toon next time.
To all of you: don’t forget to be kind to yourselves, too.
As one of Toon Thursday's biggest fans, I say: reruns are fun, too!
Remember, this blogging thing is supposed to be FUN. Don't let it be one more weight in an already pressure-filled career.
I have the forest of Post-its too, except mine are notes written on the backs of receipts and candy wrappers.
I definitely need the occasional reminder that I'm supposed to be having fun around here. 🙂
Oh, and I have the notes-on-receipts too! My desk is an appalling place right now.