On panic...

I met a guy once who had some nerve damage in his neck from a diving accident. Then one morning he woke up and felt like he couldn't breathe. They took him to the ER and found that he was actually getting air into his lungs. No problem there. But his nerves were telling his brain, "No oxygen in lungs. Panic!" He's learned to live with that feeling every second of his life.That's a little like writing. On EVERY single book I've ever written, there's come a time when I was convinced the thing was going to be a train wreck, that it simply could not be done, that this would be the book that sent my pathetic little career crashing into the cliffs in a flaming heap of jagged metal. It's not a good feeling, but it beats feeling like you can't breathe. So I've learned to live with that feeling. And it makes it all the sweeter at 3 AM on the night before the book is due, when I hit Send on my email and blast that puppy off to my editor and go collapse in bed in a flaming heap of jagged metal.

--Randy Ingermanson, author of DOUBLE VISION

Check out Randy’s website at www.rsingermanson.com

Tricia’s Thoughts:

I always tell my kids all the time, “If earth were perfect, we wouldn’t need heaven.” And as Randy reminds us, if the writing weren’t so tough, the joy of finishing wouldn’t be so grand. Writing is hard work, and there are time ALL of us panic, thinking we’re never going to succeed this time. Yet when the work is done, the joy is that much sweeter because of it.