The manuscript is complete. Edits are finalized. Query letter is as perfect as it’s ever gonna get. Agents have been researched. Submission guidelines followed to a T. So why haven’t I sent a single one? Because the shamanic astrologer told me to wait.
No, seriously. I met this fella and he gave me a two-hour reading. Part of that focused on my writing and apparently the stars, etc. are suggesting I hold off for a month or so before approaching agents. Now I love a good psychic and even read tarot cards myself, but I also spill salt with abandon and break the odd mirror without a second thought.
Why am I listening this time? Maybe because Halloween is around the corner. Or it’s an excuse to perfect my procrastination skills. Whatever the underlying reason, I figure if it’s taken me this long (“this long” being three years) to get this show on the road, what’s another month?
LD
Andrea
bjas
Sharon
Maria
Restless Writers 
There’s some comfort in having someone external validate your hesitation. But I hope it’s not just nerves that are keeping you from moving forward. Listen to your gut. Your manuscript is wonderful–it will find a home somewhere soon.
Another month and it will be pre-x-mas…eeek. I’m with Maria, it’s time to get that baby out there—it’s amazing! I KNOW it will happen for you! May I remind you, I have been querying for a year and am only now starting to receive full MS requests?! Start slow Lori, do some practice runs, umm, like now, then query your ass off! 1, 2, 3…go!
Alignment. Be it of the stars & planets, or the wheels on a car, the alignment of things has a lot to do with timing. Everything is in motion all the time. We are never truly standing still. Waiting is an action too, an intention to build a sense of readiness. A batter will not, nor should not swing at a pitch if its not “in the zone”. So, why throw pitches if there is a sense that the batter isn’t swinging it freely? “There’s a cross wind; the sun’s too bright; the air’s too thick; the catcher is holding their breath – and I saw ’em inhale!” Being ready, being aligned with the right set of circumstances, is also about preparedness. The road may be set before you, but are you feeling good about your chances of capitalizing on the opportunities that you will see on that path? Or, will you long for the road “more” travelled, and hike through the woods to get back to it when the going gets tough? Going to a professional to get a wheel alignment will tend to help us drive straighter, with more confidence and accuracy. Perhaps the therapists and star readers of this earth can provide similar comfort for us in providing tools to help us set ourselves straight, indicating when to take it slow until things are better aligned. We live our lives looking backward, recognizing wisdom after experience and not before. This is why making steps to move forward is sometimes less desirable than staying put – the present is safe and, for the most part, recognizable. The time ahead is imaginary. It’s where our dreams and ambitions live. The time ahead is also infinite, really, in that dreams have many possible shapes and sizes. We hope to minimize the possibility of nightmarish outcomes by getting advice, watching for potholes, curves and craters. The wisdom of our past actually limits our dream outcome variety – no matter how great our imagination, the future is full of REAL surprises. It has to be this way, else there is no motion, no movement, no change and nothing new “under the sun”. Alignment? Yes, we need it. Patience and self assessment? We need that that too. As in “Signs”, the film, the bat wielding skills of the Joaquin Phoenix’s character were seemingly trivial and of little practical use until they became the perfect thing at the ultimate moment. Everything was aligned and he was compelled to “swing away!” And as he did, everything changed for the better. Be ready. Be prepared and sure of your skills. You, and only you, will know when to swing and when to just hang back and have a ball. “It’s all in your hands”. So sayeth the palm reader.
Are you drunk?
Wow, I think Mr. W/\Lter just may have scored himself a guest post under the title of “Alignment.” Thoughts?
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