Category: Go Write, Inspiration

This morning, I crawled on a plane at a ridiculous hour for a Sunday and hoped beyond hope that I’d just be able to put my headphones in and sleep. This usually isn’t a problem for me. I have a Go Away vibe that goes toe to toe with Captain Von Trapp at the first sight of Maria in The Sound of Music.

My inner English librarian – who sounds like Dame Maggie Smith and dresses like the Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey – says, “The girl who was constantly critical is now faced with one of the biggest challenges/opportunities of her life and her own brain is reminding her of times when she succeeded? Preposterous!”

But there it was.  Staring me in the third eye. One of my own most-successful-rituals reminding me that this isn’t a time to be doubtful of my abilities.

Just like you know what’s on your own emotional acre, you also need to know the acreage of your characters.

Which got me thinking. What’s on my acre?

In the grand scheme of things, the worst thing that can happen in my job is for the wrong message to go out. Google “Pending Larry Quote” and you’ll see where Google themselves did this.  We all have a “Pending Larry Quote” scenario – whether it’s an incomplete draft, an underprojected budget, showing up for an appointment on the wrong day or tripping in front of a billion people like Jennifer Lawrence did on The Academy Awards.