Welcome to the series! If you haven’t yet read Parts 1-3 you may do so HERE , HERE, and HERE!
And now onto Part IV, what I’m titling:
The Easy Part (and why it’s dangerous…)
Like a well-crafted book, pregnancy comes in three parts: a beginning, middle, and end. But unlike traditional – and arguably the most enjoyable – novels, the middle part of pregnancy is often the least eventful.
The second trimester of pregnancy is often referred to as “the golden trimester” because the unpleasant effects of the first trimester (nausea, dizziness, exhaustion, etc.) have disappeared. Most pregnant women feel their energy and appetites returning and go about their daily lives normally, so normally in fact, that it’s hard for us to believe there’s actually a baby in our bellies!
To me, this happy, smooth, relatively stress-free trimester is akin to the writer’s high an author may experience after publishing a book.
If you’ve ever published a book, then you may know the euphoric, triumphant feeling to which I’m referring. Writing, editing, and delivering a “book baby” is no easy feat, so once it’s out in the world, taking on a life of its own, the natural response is to celebrate, because holy cow – it’s a pretty dadgum amazing accomplishment!
Recently published authors are somewhat like women who’ve just given birth – they’re filled with a flood of emotions that makes them just want to stand back for a moment and let their bodies and souls savor the awesome, miraculous nature of creation, that is, planting a tiny seed, nurturing it, loving it, then watching it spring up from the soil of their innermost beings and take its place in the universe.
“One of the strangest things is the act of creation.
“You are faced with a blank slate—a page, a canvas, a block of stone or wood, a silent musical instrument.
“You then look inside yourself. You pull and tug and squeeze and fish around for slippery raw shapeless things that swim like fish made of cloud vapor and fill you with living clamor. You latch onto something. And you bring it forth out of your head like Zeus giving birth to Athena.”
– Vera Nazarian
Like pregnant women in their second trimesters, these writers feel like they’re on top of the world. They’re invigorated. Excited. Pumped up without even an ounce of espresso.
But, and here’s where the parentheses of today’s title come into play, there’s a potential danger in letting this joyous, carefree time consume us.
For example, just because I didn’t feel pregnant in my second trimester, that didn’t mean I wasn’t preparing for our baby boy. There were things to buy. Appointments to make. Baby showers to plan. Gifts to register for. Nurseries to paint. Stuff to get rid of to make room for more stuff! I would be in bad shape if I’d waited till I felt pregnant again (around week 27) to start prepping for the arrival of a helpless human infant!
It’s the same with writers who are flying high after a new release. There’s a temptation, at least in my experience, to take a hiatus from all things writing – researching, outlining, editing old stuff, etcetera. We deserve it, don’t we, to take a break and give our brains a chance to recoup?
Absolutely. But you’ve got breaks, and then you’ve got breaaakkksss, the latter being a break that lasts more than a few weeks, which is just enough time for one’s creative muscles to get flabby and weak and their motivation and discipline to get, well, nonexistent.
Celebrate.
Kick back.
Enjoy doing something other than writing and thinking about writing after your book launches.
But…
Give yourself a cut-off date, a day on which you’ll be back at your writing space ready to get something done, even if it’s only a half hour’s worth of brainstorming and/or daydreaming.
Showing up and respecting the creative process will ensure your well of inspiration doesn’t run dry. You’ll gain a steady rhythm that will keep writer’s block at bay, as ideas and enthusiasm seem to favor those who consistently put in the time.
Not every day during the golden trimester is soaked in sunshine. Sometimes I felt just as tired, irritable, anxious, and downright blah as I did in my first trimester. So it is with writing after the mountaintop-moment of publishing a book, or getting an agent or a publishing deal, for that matter. On those days, give yourself grace. Take a step away, but don’t forget that everyone experiences those frustrating, I-just-can’t-think-straight days. And don’t forget that tomorrow is a brand-new day, and the blank page is waiting for you.
I hope you found this post helpful or encouraging in some way! I’ll be back soon with Part 5! In the meantime, shoot me any comments or questions on Twitter @dandersontyler or Instagram, authordianatyler!