I am coming to you from a super high of emotions this week. My little sister had her first baby, and I was honored to assist her through her labor and delivery. I have to say that it was a completely different perspective from what I was used to (being the one giving birth before), and the experience was both eye-opening and incredibly emotional (in a new way).
It made me consider a lot of things about life, and my own perspective on a variety of subjects, including my writing. Many people compare a book to a baby, and whether we agree with this or not, I think there is much we can learn from using that comparison to its fullest. So here are my highlights:
Your labor experience is unique to you and your baby.
Everyone’s creative process and road to publication is different. Whether harder, longer, assisted, complicated, or easy as pie, the process of bringing any piece of art to life will look different from you to me…and that’s completely fine.
Some type of assistance is crucial for success.
Regardless of our creative plan or schedule, something is always bound to come out different than we thought, so having a team to keep us focused is pivotal. This can take many forms: a writing collective, a critique group, a feedback buddy (or two), a monthly zoom swap of ideas. It doesn’t really matter which one you use as long as it works for you. It may take time to find the right fit. I myself, hopped from one group to another (big and small) before I found the amazing ladies I call my writing tribe now. What’s important is that you have access to the support you need to succeed.
Any kind of progress is progress, even if miniscule.
It is so easy to get caught up on all the progress we aren’t making that all too often we forget to put the process into perspective, ignore any progress, and get frustrated with everything. However, the creative labor and delivery isn’t a straight shot with even waves and perfect progression, especially for first timers. It takes patience, progress comes and goes, and sometimes runs into scary and very unexpected situations. However, when placed within a scope of beginning to end, no baby to baby, all those little and big steps alike have their place, and become all worth it. Even better, we learn from them and get better at executing them with each subsequent project.
We are all at different stages of our own creative labors, but as we focus, stop comparing ourselves to others, and embrace an environment of creative success, we will continue to progress until we achieve our goals, and we’ll be stronger because of it.
Where are you in your progress journey? Is your book baby well on its way or are you stuck? Share your thoughts below.
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M.C. Muhlenkamp 