This post was originally sent through my author newsletter on June 16th, 2023. To subscribe to my newsletter and receive up-to-date news, musings, and more, click HERE.
I'm writing this from the tiny lobby of my daughter's dance studio, to the sounds of her second-ever tap class. (Who knew three five-year-olds could make so much noise?) (Just kidding. I definitely understand the noise capacity of a gaggle of five-year-olds...)
This is, admittedly, not the optimal place to be trying to focus on writing. Unfortunately, this week, I don't really have a choice. We are barreling toward the end of the school year, and I am absolutely swamped. I've got work deadlines...and elementary school concerts/ceremonies/picnics...and birthday party preparations...and family gatherings...and next week I have another eye specialist follow-up...oh, and Monday is a school holiday...
You get the picture.
In fact, I'm sure many of you are in a similar boat! (Maybe without the child with a June birthday, but still.)
One of the biggest things on my plate right now is writing a feature article for Dance Magazine. You may know that my first job out of college was as an editor at a group of dance magazines. I started out at Dance Teacher, then moved over to Dance Spirit. When I left that job after a few years to get my MFA in creative writing, I continued to freelance for all of the group's publications. In total, I've been writing about dance professionally for almost 20 years!
But this article I'm working on right now is a doozy. It's about the preprofessional pipeline of trainee programs and second companies and apprenticeships that dancers travel along between being a student and becoming a paid professional. It's a great topic! The tricky thing is, after doing all of my interviews, I have too much information.
Magazine articles are relatively short; in this case, for a feature, I've been given a maximum of 1,500 words. I've drafted maybe two-thirds of what I want to say, and I've already surpassed 1,500 words.
I described this process to my husband as this:
Imagine being given a box with 1,000 puzzle pieces. From those 1,000 pieces, you have to complete a 100-piece puzzle. It should be a picture of a horse, but you aren't given an exact image to work from. Instead, the box is full of bits of horses...and also some zebras, and also some cows. So you start assembling pieces as best you can, and slowly, so slowly, the picture starts to turn into something. It starts to become a horse.
My article is due on Tuesday. Right now, it's a mess.
My horse has way too many legs. At least one of them is actually from a zebra.
But by Tuesday, it will come together.
That's one thing I've learned from doing this for so many years. I have the skill and the experience that I need. I know that some articles will be a breeze and others will give me a bit of grief. They'll all get done.
I try to keep that in mind whenever I'm working on something that isn't cooperating. I've been here before. I know what I'm doing. Whether it's a short article or a full-length novel, I have what it takes. I just have to keep at it.
How do you motivate yourself when a project isn't going smoothly?
~Kathryn
What I'm:
Reading: The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani. This is a family epic set in Italy, ranging from pre-World War II to present-day. It's about big loves and family secrets and the differences and similarities between generations. I'm enjoying it!
Watching: "The Other Two," a sitcom about the two older siblings of a child star. It's really funny!
Baking: My daughter's sixth birthday party is tomorrow, and this afternoon's project is baking So. Many. Mermaid. Cupcakes.
Loving: Kindergarten stepping-up was this week! I can't believe I almost have a first-grader. Every day, my daughter brings home a wad of papers in her backpack, and at least one of them says, in wild, mismatched printing, "I love Mom and Dad." My heart is full.
