Saturday, February 5, 2011

Building a Boat

I never run out of amazement at the speed of time, and how quickly it slips out of my grasp, despite my best intentions.

We now have five weeks of the year under our belts, and so far I have done lots of talking about my writing goals for this year, but zero actual work in that direction.

For the record, my stated goal for the year is to take a book proposal to She Speaks 2011, in July.

Visiting family, spring cleaning, family birthdays every weekend, sickness, and even a Central Texas snow day all count as valid reasons why I have yet to start, but they feel more like excuses.


It could also be that I am afraid of success; unsure how to exactly proceed; or uneasy because I am so all-or-nothing that I don't know how best to navigate the balance between my roles as mom, artist, and ministry professional.

Today, I finally broke free of the excuses as my lovely hubby shut me in my room with a laptop, a kitty, and a thermos of coffee; and proposed to manage the household so I could begin chipping away at my book proposal. I am just now wrapping up five hours of me-time nirvana.


Have you ever written a book proposal? I believe that by the time I have thoroughly written mine, I will have learned as much as I ever did in a college course.

The only way to get across what seems today like an ocean standing between me and publication, is to sail a boat across it. I think of this proposal as my boat.

First I need to learn how to build a boat.
And get supplies to build it.
And actually build it.

Eventually, I will cross this ocean.

And today, I have taken some important first steps. Progress feels good.

4 comments:

  1. Wow! I am SO right there with you! I just wrote a post along these same lines http://mining4diamonds.blogspot.com/2011/02/but-i-dont-know-how-to-write-book.html. Last night I just filled my Amazon cart with several "How to Write a book proposal" books that I plan to buy with part of our tax refund, that I'll be also using to pay for the She Speaks conference! I feel that God wants me to have a proposal ready for the conference, too! I'm with you, it is exciting and scary and...I don't know, just kinda weird. And overwhelming. I don't even know where to begin. I'm really hoping those books will give me some direction.

    So far, I've learned that I don't have to have the WHOLE book written! What a relief! Right now, my goal is a book proposal and the first few chapters. If I can get that much done, I'll be happy!

    Isn't it great to have supportive hubbys? What a blessing your hubby is! I am excited for you. I'll be following your journey!!!

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  2. Hi Krista! I am so glad you stopped by! I see you have a whole new look for your blog and an awesome goal to write a book proposal. I don't know if you'll have an Indigo Chapter. Your description of Indigo days really stuck with me. Prayers and a hug - it's great to stay connected.

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  3. PS I will sift through my vast collection quotes and send you ones that pop out. I have one about boat building and longing for the immensity of the sea that goes with this post. : ) Ah-but I'll think food for the soul.

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  4. I was just revisiting some of your older blog posts, Krista, and saw this one. I bought Mary DeMuth's nonfiction proposal tutorial, and it has been really, really helpful so far. (She's an amazing author, too. I'm constantly captivated by her honest and authentic writing.) She actually provides a sample template with examples, which is great to see how to format a proposal and some ideas of what needs to be there. It's a downloadable tutorial you can buy from her website: http://www.marydemuth.com/store/book-proposal/

    Supportive husbands really do make a world of difference, don't they?

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