Monday, June 11, 2007

On the Road Again. . .


Today's blog post comes to you from the Oregon coast. For over a week now, my husband and I have been motorcycling across America. I'd rank today as one of our toughest riding challenges ever! From Idaho, across Oregon and Washington, we traveled curvy mountain roads in the rain, cold, and strong winds. But we weren't about to quit. Not so close to our goal. You see, after a 4-yr quest, we now have only one state left (California) in our challenge to ride our motorcyle through each of the 48 continental United States. Lord willing, we will accomplish our goal in the next couple of days.

When we first decided to tackle this challenge, I presented my husband, David, with a black and white patch of the States along with a set of various colored Sharpies. The project of coloring in each State as we traveled through it seemed daunting.

Writing a whole book--filled with chapter after chapter of an unfolding tale--can seem like an equally overwhelming goal. I am happy to proclaim, though, even the most gargantuan goal can be reached if you pace yourself while being ever-mindful of the ultimate end. Wherever you are on your road to publication. . .remember, it's not just the destination--it's the journey. Enjoy the ride!

Susan

4 comments:

Kristy Dykes said...

Oh, wow, what a trip, Susan! Thanks for sharing!

A joke: You know how to tell if a motorcyclist is happy? Bugs in his teeth! Heehee.

Beth Loughner said...

How wonderful to be so close to finishing this mountain of a goal. You have a lot of fortitude and determination. I applaud you!

Like any big hurdle, the job can be done by breaking down the big stuff into little bite-size morsels. When I teach writing classes to the teens in our homeschool group, I've found that the students who really dislike writing are those who feel overwhelmed by the monstrous job of writing the dreaded "essay". It seems so big to them. I love to watch their faces when they discover that they can get the job done when it's approached the writing one step at a time...or in your case, Susan, one mile at a time.

Happy Riding,
Beth L.

Anonymous said...

Susan, you've managed to give me the impetus needed to dive headlong into the last quarter of my current wip. I've been dragging my feet, feeling overwhelmed by the various storylines that must come together with perfect precision, and I've let that "overwhelm feeling" keep me from putting my fingers on the keyboard. But after reading your post yesterday, I got busy, and over 5,000 words have appeared on the screen in the past 30 hours! So thank you, lady--you inspire me!

God bless, Kim S.

Mary Connealy said...

You are so much more fun than we are. I am gettin' a sharpie...but I wouldnt' hold my breath on the motorcycle.
However, my husband courted me on a motorcycle and I loved that bike.
And, after retching from Kristy's post, I thought Beth said something about a mountain goat, but Mountain of a goal, ok, she's not reporting a motorcycle/mountain goat accident. Phew!
I'm writing like crazy on my cozy right now, too. I'm having too much fun with it. It will no doubt need EXTENSIVE revisions.