Enjoy the process

It’s Publication Day for our Up & Running book! Why a pic of Julia Jones in a tub? Well, when Dietgirl came out I didn’t properly enjoy P-Day. I felt scared, fraudulent and undeserving. Back then I still believed if I dared celebrate something I’d be immediately struck down for being so indulgent (see also: iPhone laundering incident).
But now I appreciate that life is random and you can’t dress rehearse disaster (paraphrasing Brené Brown), so you have to soak up these moments!
I went a bit bonkers during the writing part of Dietgirl, too. I had a meltdown over the last chapter, one which Gareth never tires of re-enacting. I somehow wound up kneeling on the floor, punching the seat of my chair while howling, “I CAN’T DOOOO THIIIIIS!”.
This time I declared I would enjoy the process. Every time Gareth looked in while Julia and I were writing he’d ask, “Are you punching the chair yet?” and I’d be all, “Nooooo… still good!” and he’d look disappointed.
I think it comes from knowing you’ve done it before and that it’s meant to be hard, but also from not having your entire self-worth tied up in the project. This time I just loved the act of creation and collaborating, even the months when I had to use that bloody voice dictation software.
So Julia lounging up there in the bathtub (snapped during the book’s photo shoot) sums up a fun and relaaaaaxed ...

Source: The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl - January 8, 2015 Category: Other Conditions Authors: Shauna Tags: Read and Write Up & Running Source Type: blogs