Words on writing as a practice (spiritual or otherwise). It takes patience!
In addition to working as a spiritual director and transitions coach, I write and publish books under a pseudonym. It has been seven years since I started writing my third novel, and I'm currently waiting for a potential publisher to say "yes" to my latest revisions and send me a contract. If all goes well, I will soon be working with one of their editors, and my next book should be released sometime next year.
Once a potential publisher asks a writer to make manuscript revisions, the writer can either politely decline this request or make some or all of the suggested revisions. In my case, I agreed with nearly all the revisions this publisher offered, so I spent exactly two months and four days rewriting my entire novel. This summer, while some folks were frolicking at the beach, or visiting ancient ruins, I was sweating away at my computer, reviewing every sentence and word of my latest manuscript-and modifying many of them.
At last, I sent the revisions back to the potential publisher. Now I have a chance to sit at my computer and breathe. In general, authors aren't supposed to change anything in the manuscript while waiting for a publisher's final decision, so l've been working on some short stories that I'd filed away for years. Two of them had been rejected nearly two decades ago.
Now I'm resuscitating them. Giving them new life. Injecting them with vigor, vitality, and love. It's kind of fun. Like tinkering with an old engine, if you're a mechanic. Or carving a portrait out of a block of marble, if you're a sculptor.
After spending numerous years working with words to improve my prose, I believe I am a better writer than I was two decades ago. As I like to tell my creative writing students and coaching clients, "If you keep it up each day, your writing can't get worse."
Or can it? Many say: "Practice makes perfect." But we're not seeking perfection, are we? Perfection is boring, right? I'd love to hear what you think about perfection as it relates to your spiritual practice, or your practice of writing stories, books, poems, etc. As a spiritual seeker and/or writer, do you strive for perfection, or do you believe that imperfection leads to reativity and uniqueness? Or something else?
In any case, what signifies good writing? For me, it's when an author's words jump off the page and grab their readers by the ears. "Listen to me. I've got a terrific story for you. A well-crafted tale that will make you shiver, cry, sweat, laugh... Something meaningful that you'll never forget!" Kind of like when you're in the middle of a rather deep spiritual direction session with your spiritual director.
So today, as I wait for a final answer from the publisher, I sit here tapping away, composing sentences that emerge straight from my brain-without the use of Al. I might be a bit behind some of you, but I haven't embraced Al yet. (It took me ages to accept the idea of digital cameras. As an amateur photographer, I only trusted analogic, manual cameras, and continued taking slides for years. Just like I balked at smartphones—at first.)
While I type, I take time to reflect and glance out my window. In this Fall season, I see multicolored leaves trickling onto the ground, one by one. Their bright yellows, reds, and browns in stark contrast with our green grass and gray, Belgian sky.
The sight of each bird flitting onto the grass, each leaf swirling in the air, nudges me to meditate more, pray more, and trust our human species. Trust our human condition, no matter how flawed it seems. And trust in our future, and the future of our planet, and all living beings. I believe that somehow, all this mess that humans have created will work itself out.
In the meantime, I am ready to be a catalyst-and a deep listener-to take action and help others understand an important message of Spirit: we need to protect all beings on Earth, and our planet. For we are all deserving of safety, love, compassion, and kindness.