Monday, February 4, 2008

Day 4

Ahhhh, the first full week of FEBO. We got our feet wet on Friday or over the weekend, but today. . . . . today we plunge in. It's so important to form a writing habit this week, to build momentum that will keep us going "to infinity and beyond"--or at least through February.

Did you guys watch the big game yesterday? I know almost nothing about football, so this is how I pick a team. By the color of their uniforms. Or by the city they're from. Or because they're the underdog.

Yesterday I rooted for the Patriots simply for this reason (okay, I also liked their uniforms). It seemed to me that the Patriots had more invested in the game. Either team could go away with a Super Bowl Victory, but the Patriots could have had an undefeated season. That would have been one for the books. So the Patriots made me stop and ask myself: how much do I have invested in my writing? Is there enough at stake to make the game worthwhile? Am I willing to put it all on the line?

On the other hand, part of me was also rooting for the Giants, because I too am an underdog. When I submit my writing, I am competing against writers with better track records, more experience, more education, snazzier presentations. And I'm hoping for an upset. The Giants help me believe that upsets are still possible!

And since I started this stupid football analogy, I may as well run it into the ground. What does it mean to "win" in writing? To write? To be published? To do my best? To outsell J. K. Rowling? I suppose this is a question we each have to ask ourselves.

But for FEBO, the answer is much easier. To win, we set some writing goals and then try to reach them. And we can win even without reaching the goals, as long as we get more done in February than we did in January. The only way to lose is to give up.

So I'm off to eat a piece of toast with apricot preserves, and then on to FEBO, Day 4!

4 comments:

BBear said...

Can we drag the sports analogy one step further? What about Tiger Woods....he came from 3 holes behind to win with a bunch of birdies (whatever in the universe THOSE are). Sometimes maybe a writer needs to WAKE UP, look around, and "keep her eye on the birdies." (sick)

Donna Alice said...

Patty, Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Sure hope you manage to get that hour in today.

My weekend kind of went a bit puttttttttz. Didn't write on Sundays, never do--but did brainstorm a few craft ideas I can do now.

Yesterday fell by the wayside too. Although I did manage to do some crits, write some emails AND speak to a group of homeschooling girls about writing. They were so receptive--one little girl has already sent me two of her stories. I'm about to dip into "The Battle at Death's Door" this afternoon.

I'm not getting a lot of actual wordage today, but I am quering an agent, sending in a contest entry and typing up a fan fiction post. Oh, and maybe a little editing of the Jenny book later.

The Word Place said...

Your football analogy was right on. No championship was ever won by players who didn't give the game their all!

Anonymous said...

Bless you Patti! You are a very good encourager! I do hope you feel better soon.