Another Week Down and What Have I Accomplished?

Well, another week is about to be history and what have I done for the betterment of my family? We have large contracts at work in negotiation, I've done laundry and been to the grocery store. What have I done for my writing? Not enough!

Sure, I'm in a quandary over unscrupulous publishers but that doesn't result in forward momentum. What I really need to do is go back to my lists and start the process with another round of query letters. I knew when I started writing it would be a long and sometimes painful journey. But nothing worth having ever comes easy.

Without quite realizing what was happening I have allowed the end to overshadow the vehicle. Vivienne's story is compelling and she deserves it to be told. While I have taken a moment to step into another story, one which has existed in short story form a long time, I am never far from her attention. Book Two still waits for its ending and Book Three is always percolating.

Getting published is one thing. Being proud of what is published is quite different. I have certainly read some books and thought at the time, "well, that was a waste of paper and time". But then there are some books that stir the soul, fire the imagination and inspire one to greatness. I want to be proud, when the time comes, of the final edition when it is printed.

One of my favorite authors is Robert Heinlein. While many of his books changed and enriched my world, one which I find myself referring to over and over again is "Time Enough for Love". The concept of eternal man and genetic compatibility is most interesting to me. If they could take my brain and transfer all my knowledge into an exact, young and limber body with no lasting side effects or pain I would say "Sign me up!" Life is to be experienced.

One of my favorite saying in TEFL is found the first notebook of Lazarus Long. "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." My all time favorite saying from the same book is:

"Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a foot pad than it is with the leech who wants “just a few minutes of your time, please--this won’t take long.” Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time--and squawk for more! So learn to say No--and to be rude about it when necessary. Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you. (This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don’t do it because it is “expected” of you.)" Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough to Love.

And that - is that!