July Newsletter: Temptation
Temptation
The hero is tempted to abandon or stray from his quest.
Happy July!
It’s a new month, season and quarter. Can you believe half of the year is already gone? I can and can’t at the same time. I skipped the June newsletter; I was definitely tempted. Just like y’all, my schedule is jam packed:
I work 9-5 Monday through Friday as a Billing Specialist.
I hold direct 1:1 sessions and consultations.
I’m teaching at least one course a quarter — Upcoming: Intro to Sci-Fi & Fantasy
All this not to mention the personal projects and trips. I told y’all I’m outside - within reason cause this infections wastewater data making ya girl a little concerned.
As a former church kid, I’m familiar with temptation as a concept along the lines of Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires, often wrong desires, or misplaced desires. But what do I do when these other things aren’t wrong or misplaced, but literally everything I’ve asked for?
Recently, my Facebook memory from 2012 popped up. I was asking educators how to get into teaching without having an education degree. I had to repost telling my younger self “You’re doing it kid.” Sometimes I feel like I’m behind or on the wrong path but I decided to reframe. I’m not actually “straying from the quest” but it’s always great to recalibrate.
My word for 2024 is “Focus” and I’ve come to terms with the need to pivot as necessary. I had quoted 4k as the magical word count to get a finished first draft of my novel but I was falling short which negatively affected my approach to this project. My writing coach suggested, I work on a chapter per month instead of focusing on words to better go with the flow of the narrative. So guess what happened…by the end of June I completed the first draft of my first chapter!
Not only was I proud of myself, but it inspired and perfectly set up the trajectory of the second chapter. So instead of viewing temptation as something of a distraction, maybe I could see it as a chance to recommit to the quest.
What’s something that’s tempting you from your main goal? How can you refocus?
Writing Updates:
Chapter 1 of My Novel Completed!
Upcoming Events:
