I work slowly but steadily on my book—word by word, pebble by pebble. In fact, I’m not writing that much at the moment, mostly research notes, as I’m working my way through the research books; and morning pages, of course.
I read, I take notes, I read some more. Days blend into each other. My hand hurts. My head hurts even more.
Will I ever get there? The end product, the book, seems so far away. I try not to think about it; it’s so overwhelming at times. I feel I’ll never get there. It’s just so … much. Too much to think about, too much to read, too much to write. Like rowing a small boat across a vast ocean with only a flimsy map and an old compass to aid.
At times you may see something on the horizon. Maybe the coast, or maybe the gathering storm clouds. Hard to tell. You keep rowing, blistering hands on the oars and eyes on the horizon. The vision at the end of the ocean is the only thing that pumps your muscles and keeps you going long after you’re all spent.
Sometimes you see a sailboat, swiftly gliding away in the sunset, ahead of you. Tanned people with big smiles waving happily at you as you toil alone and exhausted in your rickety boat. You envy them, their seemingly effortless travel and happy faces.
Grudgingly, eyes off the happy vision, you grab your oars firmly once again and keep going. That’s the only thing you can do. Keep working, keep trusting the vision in your head. Work and have faith. Do your best and hope you’ll cross the ocean unscathed and find the treasure at the end of the rainbow.
There is a certain satisfaction in having done your best. Maybe your best is not good enough; you’re not always the best judge of that. Even so, you know that you’ve done the best you could at that moment. Right now, right here. You can try again, do better—step by step, day by day.
Happiness is this moment now, the sense of quiet accomplishment at the end of the day, the string of tiny moments, a task well done.
I put my books and papers away. Another day, another page, a few steps further down the road. Closer to the rainbow.
Related Posts
- How to Write a Book
- How to Do Research for a Non-Fiction Book
- How to Build a Research Database for a Non-Fiction Book
- How to Create a Project Plan for Writing a Non-Fiction Book
- You’ll Always Have More Ideas Than Time
If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.
