Ok, I’m not a huge Rob Thomas fan, but DS was watching “Meet the Robinsons” this week (Ok, I was watching it and he was disregarding it pretty thoroughly, whatever, if I can’t use my one and a half year old for an excuse to watch Disney movies…) and this song is on the soundtrack.

It made me question the way I have been viewing the process of writing.

This time, while I float in unpublished obscurity, is a gift.   These “small hours” while I ply away at my craft, while I stretch my creative wings, will shape the artist I hope to be one day.  And while I crave publication and the opportunity for others to read the characters I’ve come to love so desperately, this time is mine.

I write now for myself.  Each twist of phrase that feels “just right” is mine.  Each chuckle or tear I shed is mine.  Selfish but there is something heady about writing for oneself.

There’s only one time to finish that first book, there’s only this time of being unfettered by expectations.  I’m not saying I won’t or we shouldn’t keep moving forward, I only mean that we should find joy in the entire process, that each step is its own reward.

All the pressure, all the anxiety, all those self-doubts.   We need to just “let it roll right off our shoulder” because when we publish “we’ll only just remember how it feels.”  These small hours when we weren’t published are an experience we’ll never forget.

So tell me, have you had any inspirational epiphanies recently?  Let’s shore up the old confidence today.  What’s the best bit of encouragement you can offer us or the best bit of advice you’ve been given?