Grinding It Out

At the end of year I took some much needed time off. It was wonderful to relax, spend time with my family, walk the neighborhood and enjoy quiet moments of solitude. 

Now the holidays are past, school has begun again and I have client obligations, in addition to the aggressive publication schedule I've set for myself. Getting back into the groove hasn't been easy. The past few days it's been a struggle to plant my butt in my chair and write.

Today's attempt was particularly pathetic. It reminded me of an especially ugly professional basketball game I saw recently. Both teams committed turnovers, took ill-advised shots, allowed the opposing team second and third shot opportunities and went scoreless for long stretches. Eventually one team got it together, tightened up their defense and found the offense needed to win the game.

Sometimes writing is like that.

Our cast of characters misbehave, refusing to follow the script. Our minds refuse to cooperate. We're not motivated to write. We'd rather be checking email or reading a book. Our bodies rebel. The chair is uncomfortable. Our lower backs ache. We're suddenly hungry. Again.

But we push through. Make adjustments. Refocus. Call on the support of friends. We do whatever it takes to make it through and eventually get the win.

Writing isn't always pretty. It's hard work, and sometimes it feels like all that hard work may never pay off. But if we put our heads down and grind it out, we can make it through. Even when it's not pretty.

We finish a page, then a chapter and eventually make it to the end of the book.

For me, there are few things more beautiful than that. So I'm putting my head down and working through the ugly moments and grinding it out.

Is there a project that you are working on (or should be working on) where you need to grind it out?