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Practicing patience #TheRunningWriter


Practicing patience.

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Lots of us have uttered this common prayer, “Lord, please give me patience.”

Whether it’s because your kids are trying your every last nerve, work is overwhelming, you’re waiting for something huge…. doesn’t matter. Patience is hard.

We even joke at work about how we shouldn’t pray for patience because God will give you chances to practice it.

Waiting is difficult. And today, in our society of instant gratification, it’s even more difficult.

I’m totally guilty of it. When my agent submits my books or book ideas to publishers, it’s difficult to wait for the answer.

It’s easy to keep focusing on it, thoughts rolling through my mind: What if they hate it? Wonder if we’ll hear back today? Should I text my agent? Come on, how long does it take to decide? What if….

See where I’m going with this? And it’s easy for my thoughts to take a dark turn, too.

Early on in my writing career, I did go through this. Constant refreshing of my email. Checking my phone for missed texts. Constantly thinking about possibilities.

It wore me out. Talk about a weight on my mind and heart. The thing is, it spread out to other areas of my life.

When my mind is constantly preoccupied by obsessive worry and what ifs, I get a little snippy and short tempered.

And I so don’t like it when I’m like that.

But how do you handle the wait time? The time between the question and the answer.

Keep moving forward. Instead of me sitting and waiting to hear back, I keep writing. Keep my creativity going. Keep growing.

So I tell my agent that I’ll just keep writing stories during the wait time because she’ll just have that many more options to share with potential publishers.

Another helpful thing: friends. Oh my goodness I’d die without the supportive shoulders I cry on. That’s a huge reason I stay sane during the many wait times in an author’s world.

Exercise, too. If you guys follow my social media, you already know how important exercise is in my life. It helps reduce my stress, organize my thoughts, and pass the wait time.

I’ve been known to talk story ideas into my iPhone Notes app while I’m running. So it not only helps me stay sane during wait times, it’s a great way to think of new story ideas and keep the creative juices flowing.

So do you pass the wait time?

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NYT & USA Today Bestseller & ultra-runner known as #TheRunningWriter. Agents: Joyce Sweeney & Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency.