that's my chicken!
My friend and colleague Joseph Bentz is an incredibly talented writer. He just did an online interview with Patricia Hickman, and in it, he mentions that when I have projects that are "on hold," I file them "under the chicken." I actually have a plastic inbox for these items, and I actually have a large ceramic chicken that I set on top of them all.
When projects seem to be languishing (waiting for a response to a query, waiting for the publisher to take action, waiting to recover from the bruise of a wrong-headed review, waiting for a vague idea to come into focus), I am tempted to get impatient, stomp my little foot, spit, fume, and complain. Instead, I look at the chicken, smile, and realize that sometimes things just take a little more time.
To read Joe's interview, go to http://wordsunwired.blogspot.com/2009/03/lessons-learned-from-ceramic-chicken.html.
To find out more about Joe's books, go to http://www.josephbentz.com/
Persistence, flexibility, and p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e. That's what makes Joseph Bentz a great writer.
2 Comments
I love to hear about the way you nurture creativity!
I have to wonder whether there is an electronic equivalent that would work as well for all my freelance assignments that are stuck while I wait for someone to return a telephone call. Maybe a file folder on my desktop called "Under the Chicken"? At least it would be good for a laugh, rather than a fume of impatience!