Riding the Wave

Riding the wave. That's what I feel like I'm doing at the moment. Sometimes that wave seems about to crash on top of me and other times I feel like I'm going to catch it all the way into the shore.

I won't know if I make it the shore for a few months yet, though. With three books coming out in 4 months, my marketing activities are in over-drive. There seems to be so much to do! Not only that, I'm a member of several writer's groups, networks and other initiatives that take up a lot of time and energy to maintain. On top of that, I have to care for 3 young children and manage a household. It's a constant juggle - but I love it. I can't deny that I do. I love every moment of it even if it is flashing by at a rapid pace.

People ask me, 'How do you keep going?', 'How do you keep the energy and excitement for projects alive?' For me, some of it comes naturally. I'm a born organiser and I worked in marketing for ten years, so I'm comfortable with a lot of things I'm doing. I like organising events. I like designing flyers and creating posters and so on.

And while I'm not spending a lot of time writing creatively per se, I am writing a lot about myself for articles and recording childhood stories and experiences that have made me who I am and which can be used for my presentations - I'm storytelling in different ways to add depth and pizazz to my 'road to publication' story. That part of the process I enjoy, too.

Once, those childhood stories would have been embarrassing to tell or I would have thought they had little value. Now I'm drawing on them to show people who I am and where I come from. I've realised that I've grown as a person and gone past the awkwardness of my childhood experiences. As my dream to become a published author slowly materialises, I feel validated as a person. I feel I'm getting closer to becoming who I've always wanted to be. All that makes it easier to deal with the past.

This realisation also gives me the energy and drive to keep going. I know I'm still in that early stage of my career where everything is bright and shiny and new. I know I have so much more to learn - but that excites me. I'm having so much fun riding this wave that whether it does crash on me or not, I will remember this ride as one of the best times in my life.