EMBRACING THE CREATIVE MOMENT

This morning I snatched a few moments to work on my ms, only to find that twenty minutes had passed.

It wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t had to leave early and drop the car off for a service before going to the day job. As it was, I had ten minutes to get ready and I went from the world of words to rushing around the bedroom, throwing on work clothes, doing my hair, and grabbing my bag.

Ten minutes later, I was on my way and it struck me that I had experienced a NOW moment. A moment of immersion when writing was all that mattered.

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
― Eckhart Tolle

I’ve just started reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle for the first time and it’s made me reflect on this:

[bctt tweet=”I enjoy #writing most when I’m lost in the moment.” username=”MoniqueMulligan”]

Not thinking about what the future may or may not hold for my story.

Not comparing myself to other, already successful writers.

Not wishing my book was the one everyone was talking about.

Not bemoaning how long this writing business takes.

Not worrying about agents or publishers.

Not weighing up the pros and cons of traditional publishing v indie publishing.

Not imagining my book on the shelves of book shops all over the country and beyond.

Not dwelling on rejections.

Not rehearsing witty or profound answers to imaginary questions at book festivals and other events.

I’ve done all of these.

There is a time and a place for thinking about some of them.

But not when I’m writing.

[bctt tweet=”I want to lose myself in the creative experience. #writing” username=”MoniqueMulligan”]

Not get caught up in an imagined future or a no-longer present past.

People ask me what I’m working on.

When my book’s coming out.

The short answer is, when it’s ready.

I’m still revising Wildflower. Set in the 1979-80 summer and told through the eyes of a 10-year-old girl, this coming-of-age novel is about the impact of domestic violence in a time when no one thought it was their business.

I so much want to see it “out there” – of course I want it to be snapped up by an agent and a publisher. I believe in my story, in Jane and her friend Acacia’s story.

But instead of getting caught up in my hopes for the story’s future, I’m focusing on making sure this novel is the best it can be before worrying about the next step.

It’s not a race.