By Jennifer Hallmark
Did you ever have
one of those days that started off pretty good then suddenly went all wrong? Me
too…
One lovely fall
afternoon, I decided to visit my mom, taking a shortcut through narrow,
winding, country roads to her home. The leaves had turned from green to
brilliant shades of red and gold and it was a good day to be alive.
Then I drew close
behind a slow-moving truck. I groaned. Ahead of me was not just any truck but a
litter-spreader truck, filled to overflowing with chicken litter from a nearby
chicken farm. The stench, a cross between manure, garbage, and rotten fish,
pervaded my car. I couldn’t pass him on the curvy road and it would be too much
trouble to turn around and go a different way.
I clutched the
steering wheel and groaned. “Why me?” I spoke out loud. “This is my writing
life. I’m on the right road, doing what I’m supposed to be doing (as far as I
know) and I’m stuck behind a slow, smelly truck.” I crept along at 20 miles an
hour. Would it ever turn to another road? Would I ever make it to my
destination? How could I get out of my place of struggle, this transition?
How do we get out
of this foggy, uncertain place?
Have you been
there? Or like me, are you there now? You know that point where you’ve been
writing awhile and your hobby/career seems to be progressing nicely. You’ve
been to numerous writing conferences, made connections with other writers, and
you know it’s finally time for…
The big break.
The contract.
Signing with an
agent.
The bestseller.
So you sit back
and wait. And wait. Days stretch into weeks and crawl into months. No emails.
No phone calls. Nothing. Cue the sound of chirping crickets. Now what?
You’ve come too
far to go back but not far enough to feel confident.
Like in my
driving analogy, you feel stuck. So how do we respond?
As I drove I
realized I could:
(1) Hold
my nose. If I didn’t breathe through my nose, the smell would lessen. And if I
didn’t dwell on the negative, I could focus more on what I can do instead of
what I can’t.
(2) Don’t
follow too close. I slowed down because chunks of litter were bouncing out from
under the loose tarp on top. I didn’t want it on my car. Fretting and trying to
make something happen by getting close wouldn’t help me. I could, however, slow
down and enjoy the scenery, my journey as it was. Creativity is stifled when
you worry.
(3) Realize
that at some point the truck would turn or I would. When I was about a mile
from mom’s house, the truck kept going straight while I veered to the right. At
last. The odor diminished and I could speed up again. A few minutes later, I
arrived at my destination. If I keep plugging away at my writing, learning,
always willing to change and grow, open to opportunity, and forever laying it
all before God, something will change.
Mostly me.
If you’re like me
and your writing career is stalled behind a stinky truck, don’t give up hope.
I’m learning patience, perseverance, and the ability to focus on my journey and
not just the destination or goals I’ve set. When I slowed down, I could take in
the beauty of God’s creation surrounding me. And I could follow the progression
of life and even write an article from the experience.
So while waiting,
I can be thankful. And try to smell the roses. Even while following a litter
truck…
__________________________________________________________________
Jennifer Hallmark is a writer of Southern fiction and also fantasy; a
combination that keeps the creative juices flowing. She’s published over 200
articles and interviews on the internet, short stories in several magazines,
and been part of three book compilations: The Heart Seekers Series,Sweet Freedom A La Mode, and Not Alone: A Literary and Spiritual Companion for Those Confronted with
Infertility and Miscarriage. Jennifer’s website, Alabama-Inspired Fiction,
and the group blog she co-founded, focus on her books,
love of the South, and helping writers. She sends out a monthly newsletter,
which you can subscribe to at her author page. You can visit
her onFacebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Jennifer and
her husband, Danny, have spent their married life in Alabama and have a basset
hound, Max. Their daughter Mandy is married to Tim and has given them two
beautiful granddaughters, Ava, and Sadie and a handsome new grandson, Zeke. Their
son, Jonathan, is married to Kristie and they’re expecting their first child.
Kristie has two precious children: Cohen and Phoebe. Jennifer loves to read
detective fiction from the Golden Age, watch movies like LOTR, and play with
all her grandchildren. At times, she writes.When she’s not working in the
garden or keeping the grandkids.
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