My brain feels a little fried from a couple of hours of long, boring edits that were a necessity for my novel today. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed editing my novel. Filling plot holes, answering open ended questions and building out stronger characters in my story has been an absolute joy. Some edits are just a little less fun than others, like switching up the perspective of how it's told.

To decompress from those edits, I read an insightful article written by the author, Hugh Howey called Writing Insights Part One: Becoming a Writer, which every writer should read by the way. This is the first of four installments he has written, and I can't wait to dig into the rest of his knowledge he has to share with writers.  

I needed time to digest what he wrote, think about how to apply his suggestions to my life right now, and let the words seep in, letting the inspiration take its course. I decided the best way to do this was to also let my body digest dairy-free, coconut milk cookies-and-cream ice cream. Straight from the carton. I found myself scouring around the coconut cream in search for the real reason I was eating the ice cream: the cookies. As I furiously mined for the golden nuggets, I realized how silly it was for me to rush through the equally delicious goodness of the coconut cream. Here I am, lucky to have an ice cream substitute that won't hurt my stomach, yet, I'm on the hunt for the rare cookie bites, and I'm not letting myself be satisfied until I have a cookie bit on my spoon. I could've just bought a bag of cookies if that's all I want to enjoy from eating it. So, I stopped searching for rarer bites, and just enjoyed the entire experience. One creamy bite at a time. 

It made me think about how easy this mindset is to get into with my craft of writing and for anyone with a creative passion. We want to plow through what we deem as the boring parts of what we do and get to the end product or success. What if we took the time to enjoy those parts we begrudgingly zoom through normally? What if we open our eyes and find beauty and joy in those aspects of our craft that we've so easily placed on our chores check list? 

I want to enjoy my craft of writing and all that comes with it. I want to be in it for the whole journey and not just the end goal, which in the end could lead to disappointment, especially if that goal does not come to fruition. Finding happiness in my craft each day is what's going to propel me forward and keep me going. I'm still aiming for my end goal. I still desire publishing novels that people enjoy getting lost in, but I'm going to enjoy each day I work towards getting there. 

I hope you can do the same with your craft too. What's there to lose trying to find a little more joy in your life?