H.B. Reneau's Blog, page 6
September 21, 2020
The Inspiration Behind Chaos Looming
Welcome back everybody! I’m so excited to announce that we are T-minus 10 days away from the official launch of Chaos Looming, Book One in the Legion of Pneumos! First, I want to thank everyone who was so kind to reach out with thoughts and feedback from the sample chapters that I released a few weeks ago. I also want to thank everyone who pre-ordered online (copies still available at the link here!).
But for this week’s post, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk a little bit about the inspiration behind Chaos Looming. Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I wrote this book in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, when I and the rest of my medical school cohort were recalled back to Washington DC. They yanked out of the hospitals and left with no clue if or when we were ever going back. Along with just about everybody else in the world, this was a really difficult time for me, a period when I didn’t really know what was going to happen. There was an air of uncertainty, not just about my own life but about the fate of the world as a whole. Amid a global pandemic, here I was 50% of the way through medical school and still 100% useless. Any sense of purpose I had had about the path I was on seemed to vanish in an instant.
"Amid a global pandemic, here I was 50% of the way through medical school and still 100% useless."
So looking back, I suppose it’s really not that surprising that I wrote a book about a girl dropped into a world that she didn’t understand, convinced that she had some higher purpose in it…but with absolutely no clue what it was. Then as the world crumbles around her, Keira has to figure out what it means to be a leader in times of uncertainly. What does it mean to pursue goodness, order, and justice when there is no clear path before you? Chaos Looming is about a lot of things. It’s about trust, the difference between right and wrong, as well as vulnerability. One of my favorite things about the character of Keira is that she is an incredibly flawed person. She didn’t have the best childhood and the circumstances she found herself in required a level of strength that many of us never have to find, especially that young. The way she channeled that was to rely firmly on herself. In many ways, this makes her a powerful character, very opinionated and confident. But at the same time, it creates a lot of flaws. Keira has a unwillingness to rely on other people and a conviction that she doesn’t need to. This self-reliance also makes it hard for her to let other people in. I think the relationship between here and Danny in particular is a wonderful commentary on the people that we choose to let into our lives, those we allow to see us as we truly are. That’s something that’s really hard for Keira and I think it very much betrays this underlying fear of vulnerability.
For me personally, the process of writing Chaos Looming absolutely an act of escapism with a side of coping mechanism. It allowed me to journey to a world with very different problems than ours, but still eerily familiar. The fight against chaos and the desire to make order out of the turmoil is one that I think we’ve all had to grapple with this year. How do you find some sense of normalcy when the world around you is completely flipped on its head? For that reason, I’d humbly suggest that Chaos Looming is an incredibly timely book, speaking into our current moment in a way that I think can be hard to find, particularly in the fantasy genre.
"Chaos Looming is an incredibly timely book, speaking into our current moment in a way that I think can be hard to find, particularly in the fantasy genre."
I should also say a little bit about the genre. I’ve classified it as historical fantasy as there are definite elements of the supernatural with this concept I’m playing with called Pneuma, capable of generating both chaos and order out of its surroundings. At the same time, the story is very much grounded in a world that seems very concrete, even as it is totally different from our own.
Anyway, I’m so excited for you all to get to read this book when it comes out next week, and I would love to hear from you about your reactions: the parts you loved, even the parts you hated. Because this is a growing period for all of us. And as I continue work on Book Two in this series, I’m excited to hear some feedback about what really resonates with readers.
What about you? Whether it be the characters, the setting, or the plot, was there anything that spoke to you or drove you to continue reading?
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September 14, 2020
5 Tips for Hiring an Editor
So you want to indie publish! But how do you make sure that your work is professional and ready for the world to read? You hire an editor! Don’t know the first thing about hiring an editor? Read on, friend!
When I first started down this authorship journey, I had absolutely no idea how to go about hiring an editor, let alone actually working with them to make my work the very best it could be! But if you’re invested in your writing, then this is absolutely a step you don’t want to skip! Now, as Chaos Looming is due to hit shelves in just over two weeks (
September 7, 2020
Chaos Looming Pre-orders Live!
I’m so excited to announce this week that the ebook and paperback versions of Chaos Looming are officially live and available for pre-orders on Amazon! Launch day is Oct 1st, but in honor of the occasion, I’m bringing you a sneak peek of Chapter 1 from Chaos Looming, just to whet your appetite! Let me know what you think in the comments!
Also be sure to share with anyone you think might be interested via the social media links below!
Pre-Order Here!
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Chaos Looming - Sneak Peek
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August 31, 2020
5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Writing My First Novel
Every journey is marked by mistakes, experimentation, and ultimately learning. The path to authorship is no different! Read on for some of the tips, tools, and tricks that I’ve gleaned along the way to publishing my first novel. Happy writing!
1) Write the Beginning Last
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a blog or listened to some podcast that harped on and on about the importance of a good opening. From the existential crisis that is the opening line to the never-ending debate over the precise percentage of character backstory to include in that initial scene, so much seems to ride on these decisions, meaning there is plenty to stress out over. But don’t let fear of the blank page stand in your way!
I’m sure there are authors out there who always know exactly how they want to set the stage for every story. But if you’re like me, and had written and rewritten the first chapter of your novel half a dozen times before realizing that the actual story started after Chapter 5, then I’d seriously urge you to give yourself permission to just move on. Writing for me has always been a question of finding and maintaining momentum. Like a lot of writers, I suffer from shiny object syndrome and tend to go all in on every single project before quickly losing steam as soon as I get excited about the next project.
So if you know you have that tendency, give yourself permission to move with that momentum. The beauty of editing is that you can always go back later and iron out that initial scene.
"Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you."
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
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“There is always, of course, that terrible three weeks, or a month, which you have to get through when you are trying to get started on a book. There is no agony like it. You sit in a room, biting pencils, looking at a typewriter, walking about, or casting yourself down on a sofa, feeling you want to cry your head off . . . .”
Agatha Christie
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2) Experiment
Don’t be afraid to experiment with how, when, where, and what you write! Like anything, writing is a skill you have to develop. But more than that, it’s supposed to be fun! Sitting down and exploring a brand new world and meeting new and exciting characters. But sometimes it takes a while to get there!
The internet is filled with unsolicited advice from those who claim to have been there, done that, and somehow come out the other side an author. Well, here’s my piece of unsolicited advice: You have to do what works for YOU.
It’s all well and good to believe that the absolute best time to write is at 5am every day when you’re still in sub-rational dream state. It’s perfectly fine that some swear by dictation, stream of consciousness, or outline writing. There are plotters and there are pantsers, but all are writers. The fact remains that every piece of advice means absolutely nothing if it doesn’t work for YOU.
So give yourself permission to experiment! Write at different times of day! Go to the library, the cafe, your backyard, or even under your stairs. Try a free trial of the latest and greatest writing software. I’m including a list of some of my favorite tools below, so feel free to check them out! Do whatever it takes to develop your own process. But here’s the key:
You have to keep writing along the way.
Take it from someone who has made a career out of procrastinating from work by planning out exactly how I want to do said work. Experiment to your heart’s content, but don’t lose your momentum. You have a story to tell, so don’t let yourself get sidetracked!
3) Record Everything
In the excitement of finally getting the courage to sit down and write my first novel, I was so worried about losing momentum and getting sidetracked that I didn’t want to stop for anything. Not editing, not plotting, not in depth character analysis, nothing.
Now that Chaos Looming is written and edited, and I’m working on the sequel, the one thing I wish I’d done differently would have been to keep better records. Specifically, I wish that I’d created a Story Bible and Style Guide as I went along. Now, I had your standard character sheets and basic plot arc, but I didn’t slow down to record the ever-important world-building details that I created as I wrote. From the name of someone’s horse, plants and herbs and their uses, the musical instruments my characters heard, or the myths and legends I referenced.
Diving back into that world, I’m constantly having to reference the first novel and its accompanying novellas (no spoilers yet!) to make sure I’m getting these details right. From now on, I’ll definitely be building these documents as I go to save time in the long run!
Pro Tip: It’s also super helpful when working with an editor to provide them with a style guide that has some of this information. Most people remember to include character names, places, and general spelling and grammar conventions you’d like to follow, but especially for developmental editing, adding more details lets another person double check your consistency.
“The best time to plan a book is while you’re doing the dishes.”
Agatha Christie
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“Writing is like driving at night. You can see only as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
E.L. Doctorow
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4) Write Only for You
I based the core premise for The Legion of Pneumos series on a short story I wrote when I was ten years old. Yep, you read that right! Over a decade and a half later, and Chaos Looming is finally seeing the light of day. I picked up and put it back down countless times in the years since then. In 2018 I even mapped out the entire plot, built all my character sheets, started writing the first few chapters, and then…I stopped.
Why? I was afraid. There’s really no other way to put it. I was afraid of having my words out in the world for others to read and judge. The absolute only way that I could work up the courage to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys as it may be) was that I first had to lie to myself. I had to promise myself that no one else would ever read a word of what I was writing.
It was only then that I could turn off the voice in the back of my head that kept insisting that my idea was boring, that no one would care about these characters, that my writing would never be good enough. To silence my inner critic, I had to focus on why I had sat down to write in the first place. I had a story to tell, a world I wanted to live in, even if just for a while.
Telling myself that no one else would ever read my book gave me the courage to get started, free from the sometimes oppressive opinions of others. At the end of the day, I’ll always be writing for myself first.
“Dance above the surface of the world. Let your thoughts lift you into creativity that is not hampered by opinion.”
Red Haircrow
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“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
Groucho Marx
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5) Learn to Close the Book
In the epic words of one founding father, “We’re gonna teach ’em how to say goodbye.”
I think I’m not alone in the writing community in having definite perfectionist tendencies. That means countless rounds of editing and back and forth discussions with your cover designer. At one point, I was so worried about having plot holes in the series that I seriously considered holding off on publishing the first book until I’d written the entire series, just in case, I changed something later on.
On one level, this is entirely normal. You’ve poured your heart and soul into a work, so you can’t bear the thought of letting it out into the world until it is absolutely perfect. But is there more to it than that?
I believe the secret truth that all writers fear, is that as soon as they let someone else into their world, it’s no longer truly theirs anymore. A story changes as soon as it’s been told, morphed and nuanced by the life and experience of the receiver.
No one likes to feel like they’ve lost control, but with writers, that’s our entire job. We create an experience for the reader, filled with emotion and thought. We create something that will outlive us, that will grow and change without us. That is the joy of writing, but the first person that has to close the book is us.
“No book can ever be finished. While working on it we learn just enough to find it immature the moment we turn away from it”
Karl Popper
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“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.
That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”
Octavia E. Butler
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What about you? What are you struggling with as you write your first novel?
What advice and tips do you have around writing and publishing?
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The post 5 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Writing My First Novel appeared first on H.B. Reneau.
August 24, 2020
Chaos Looming Cover Release!
But what if chaos can’t be tamed?
I have some exciting news on the book front this week, *cue drumroll* the cover release for Chaos Looming! Coming to stores Oct 1st! This is book one in the Legion of Pneumos series and I couldn’t be more excited about how it turned out!
The cover was designed by the incredibly talented Natalia Junqueira. I had a wonderful time collaborating with her on this project and can’t recommend her highly enough. She was responsive and such an incredible sounding board for my wackadoodle ideas, turning them into the vision before you! So if you’re in the market for a designer, you should definitely check out her page over at Reedsy.
We had a lot of conversations back and forth about the imagery used in the cover. We both really liked the silhouette motif, which has become pretty popular among cover designs lately. In particular, the image of a tree was really symbolic of the way in which Keira and Danny’s pneuma works in sync. For a little background, Pneuma is a form of energy, the power to build and break, heal and destroy. It travels like sound waves on the back of a whistle and cannot itself be seen, only its effects. Danny’s pneuma is the grounding roots spreading deep within the earth, tethering them both to time and place. Keira’s pneuma is like the branches casting out beyond her, wielding its full creative/destructive force, but kept from dissociating by Danny’s tether, rooting them both to the present.
Within the tree silhouette, you can get a sneak peek of Crîd Eálas, the capital city of Loren with the Vindolum visible on the left. The massive fortress serves as the traditional home of the Marians royal family, looming over the capital city below. Also within the tree, we see silhouettes of Keira and Danny. I absolutely love how Natalia drew them and really think she captured the essence of the characters!
Still curious about Loren? Join my mailing list to the right and receive a gorgeous high resolution map of the country! Also, keep a lookout for Chaos Looming, in stores Oct. 1st!
I hope you guys like the cover. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
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August 17, 2020
Making the Creative Transition, Part II
Welcome back everybody! This week is the second installment of a topic I’m calling, “Making the Creative Transition,” where I talk about tips and tricks for transitioning between your average workday (or in my case 12+ hours in the hospital) and evenings dedicated to relaxation and creativity. For me, that means simultaneously being a medical student and also a writing, blogging, creative.
Last week we talked about how to organize your day-to-day to minimize stress and give you mental space to pursue these other things. For me, that’s being a creative, it’s writing and blogging. I find joy in these things. For you, that might be something else: reading, making music, drawing, dancing, coding, etc., all of which are fantastic! The key here is finding something else in your life that you do, that makes you feel good about yourself.
We’ve talked before about why that’s important, why having multiple facets of our identity is so important for being a happy, healthy person. So if you’re curious, or want to read more, take a look at last week’s post here. Whatever it is you do, I still think you’ll find some of the following tips and tricks helpful to making that transition happen in your life.
1) Give Yourself Grace
We talked a lot last week about trying to keep some separation between the various roles you fill. So for me, when I’m at the hospital, I am mentally and emotionally focused on that, so that when I’m at home, I can allow myself the space to explore and be creative without feeling guilt or judgement that I’m somehow shirking my other responsibilities. But tip number one this week is giving yourself grace in realizing that that will not always be possible.
Things will pop up, ok? Even the best-laid plans have the tendency to crumple when confronted with reality. Whether it’s the last minute paper your chief assigns as you’re walking out the door, or your car breaks down and you need to take it into the shop, life happens. And part of being a happy, healthy person is making space for that.
It’s so important to not let yourself become distraught or feel like a failure because your plan to make a certain word count that evening or get a blog post out on time didn’t work out as you’d hoped.
Plans change. They’re made for us, not to drive us. So if your plan is not working for you, then you need to change your plan.
2) Find a Creative Routine
When you’re making these transitions, I find it really helpful to physically embody those transitions. So by that I mean, do something that signals to your brain that you are in a different space, a different mindset, and therefore that different rules apply.
So that can be changing clothes, putting on some music, kicking off your shoes, lighting a candle, or cooking some food. In short, it’s doing whatever it is you need to do to help signal that you’re in a change space.
For me, because my transition is to a more creative focus, I sometimes will dress in something that embodies that, maybe a fun top or flowing pant bottoms, just something cool and different from the scrubs I’ve had on all day. I’m also a fan of candles, particularly the Bath&Body works aromatherapy ones (the Relax line is my writing/editing scent), and a hot cup of tea, even in the summer.
These things may seem small and inconsequential, but they end up being important, tangible touchstones as I transition from the fast-paced hospital environment to a calming creative space.
I’d encourage you to think about what sights, sounds, tastes, and scents you can draw on to really delineate this transition for you!
3) Go Outside
During the dark days of COVID lockdown, when I was sad and trapped in my AirBnB, not allowed in the hospital and with absolutely nothing to fill my day, writing was the thing I turned to. I would huddle in our rented apartment and just write, and it was incredible.
However, now that I’m allowed back in the hospital, and I spent 12-13 of my waking hours there (careful what you hope for, folks), I’ve come to re-appreciate the joy and beauty that is sunlight. I mentioned earlier that I’m not a tremendous fan of multitasking, because science tells us it makes everything we do less effective and efficient. However, there is one type of multitasking that I do appreciate, and that is my near-daily Walk&Write.
I’ve really gotten into dictation, of going for a walk and recording my voice as I write aloud (I actually found a cool article about it here!). The benefits to this are A) getting exercise, and B) getting outside. Being outside, moving my body, is one of the best things I can do for my overall mental health, with numerous studies showing that exercise makes you a happier, healthier person. We also know that sunlight is important for our wellbeing, providing us with Vitamin D which has been shown to improve health and mood overall.
But even more than that, being outside makes us more creative. It’s so much easier to be spontaneous and free-thinking when I’m out walking in nature, than when I’m trapped inside a hotel room.
Additionally, my inner editor gets pushed aside because they can’t see what I’m writing. I write more freely because I can just speak now and edit later, which has done wonders for my daily word count. And it just feels good to get your thoughts out there. And yes, I probably look kind of funny walking around with one AirPod in and talking to myself, plus or minus wild gesticulations. But at the end of the day, no one really cares, especially nowadays when everyone has Bluetooth. They probably think I’m just talking to someone, which is way less weird right?
So Walk&Write, it’s really been a game changer for me. I write more effectively and efficiently, and I’m also a happier, healthier person because I’m outside and getting exercise at the same time. All good things.
4) Create a Winding Down Routine
While I’m out and moving, enjoying the outdoors, and being creative, the sad fact remains that I have to wake up at 4am the next morning. So even though I’m in Washington, where it stays light outside until after 9pm in the summer, I have to be in bed by 8. I know it’s sad. I’m totally a grandma. But sleep is something that is very important to me. I’ve found that it affects my entire day if I’m not able to get enough of it. So for me, sleep is a priority that I have to plan for in advance.
Sleep may not be as big of a priority for you, and that’s ok! That is, to an extent. You know, be reasonable guys. There are also studies on the effect of sleep deprivation on your cortisol levels, which in turn affect your physical and mental health. Sleep is definitely important but maybe not everyone needs a full 8 hours. I, on the other hand, most certainly do.
So when it starts getting to be that time, I’ll be walking back to my hotel and thinking about how I’m going to wind down for the day. Luckily, I’m currently staying in a hotel room with blackout shades, which is seriously a number one priority. I’m very light sensitive when it comes to sleeping, so I have to put the shades down about an hour before I plan on going to sleep.
So the shades go down, pajamas come on. I restart my kettle, get some more tea brewing (caffeine free), and light some candles (Bath&Body works Sleep scent). Again, different scents for different parts of my routine. I know I’m a nerd, but it works for me! Everyone has to find some strategies that work for them.
Then I’ll curl up in bed and read, transcribe what I dictated on my walk, or maybe edit something I was working on before. Whatever it is, its purpose is to help me wind down and get ready to sleep. And that’s really helpful for me, because by the time 8 rolls around, I’m ready to sleep and can wake up feeling refreshed the next day, ready to do it all over again.
So that’s it in a nutshell! By organizing your day and planning for the next one early on, you leave mental space to have relaxing, creative evenings. You’re also able to fall asleep with as many happy, creative thoughts in your mind as possible, rather than studying or stressing about what the next day might bring.
Because if you’re at all like me, you’ll have had your fair share of nightmares about the various mishaps that might strike you at work. In my case, falling asleep on the operating table (would not recommend)! I swear I have a borderline pathological fear of contaminating the sterile field…
So what about you? Leave a comment with any tips or tricks that you have for getting into the creative mood after a hard day of work!
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August 10, 2020
Making the Creative Transition, Part I
As someone who’s going through medical school to learn to be a doctor, writing books, and just trying to be an all-around functional human being, something that I often get asked is: How do you go about making that transition?
And to be honest, it’s something I’ve thought a lot about too! How can I go from working a 12 or 13 hour day at the hospital and come home, mentally exhausted with aching feet, and transition into something resembling a human? What’s more, how do you become someone who can not only register their own thoughts, but actually put them down on paper? Well, I won’t lie—some days are definitely easier than others.
So today, I’ll talk about some strategies I use for making that transition. This will be a two-part series. Today we’ll talk about tips and tricks for setting yourself up well before you try to shift gears. Next week we’ll discuss the transition itself and some strategies for making that happen in as seemless a manner as possible.
Many of these strategies apply to all sorts of transitions you have in your life. But my quick disclaimer, is that I can only speak to what has worked well for my personal life circumstances. We all have responsibilities that demand distinct things from us throughout the day and we have to find ways of transitioning between those, taking on unique roles within the places and environments we find ourselves in.
For me, I’m on my away rotations, living out of hotel rooms and traveling around the country from hospital to hospital. This presents its own challenges to be sure, but also entails certain freedoms. I’m not married and I don’t have any children, unless you count my adorable cavalier puppy, Rory (which of course, I do). But because of that, these transitions will look different for different people, depending on what your circumstances are. There’s no one-size-fits all approach to this, so here I’m just giving you mine. And here they are!
1) Set Goals
Step one to achieving an effective transition, or having work-life balance, is to set goals for yourself. And these goals apply to every area of your life! This is because you can’t strategise and prioritize unless you first know what’s even on the to-do list to begin with.
And I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but these should be S.M.A.R.T. goals. They should be Specific enough that each step is thought about ahead of time. They should be Measurable, so you have some quantifiable end point, which assures that they are Achievable, so you can have the satisfaction of checking them off said to-do list. And finally, they should be Realistic, so you’re not setting yourself up for failure with a goal that can’t be achieved within the time-limited frame that you’ve allotted yourself.
So, for example, one of my goals is to do five Question bank questions per day to study for the Medical School Step 1 exam I’ll be taking next spring (a long-term goal that I’m slowly chipping away at). Similarly, another goal I have is to do ten AMBOSS questions per day to study for my surgery shelf exam, which is coming up at the end of my rotation (this Friday, ahh!). So those are my goals: 15 questions, doable right? These are attainable goals that are time limited in that I’m trying to do them every day, and they help keep me organized and on task so I use my time as efficiently as possible.
2) Create Separation
This may sound obvious, but it’s really important that every day, to the best of my ability, when I’m at the hospital, I am at the hospital. I’m not just physically there, but I’m also mentally there. And that can mean several things. It’s checking myself when I daydream about all I will do (or have to do) when I get off work. It’s refusing to stare at the clock and instead start taking advantage of the extra time I have while still required to be on duty (more on this in the next tip). It means being engaged with patients I’m interviewing, the procedures I’m observing, and the cases I’m researching. It’s trusting in the process and doing the hard work during the day, so I have time to relax and be creative in the evening.
There’s been a lot of discussion around work-life balance in the world of late, with much of it focusing on how to be everything to everybody, all of the time. Honestly, for me, I’ve always found balance much easier to achieve when I try to create a separation between responsibilities, rather than constantly splitting my focus. Believe me, I can multitask with the best of them. But study after study has shown us that while multitasking may seem more efficient, it actually makes us less effective at everything we do, which requires more time to do properly.
3) Find Stolen Moments
A major way that I create separation between the hospital and home is to find stolen moments throughout the day. Finding stolen moments means taking the downtime that you have throughout the day and making the most of it. Maybe your patient is being prepped for surgery and there’s nothing you can do to help, or the OR is being turned over and you’re waiting for your patient to make their way up to pre-op. You could use that time to surf Facebook, check your Instagram, all the things we do to fill time. Often, they seem like they’re a way of relaxing. But at least in my experience, all they do is make me stressed out later, when I realize that I have a lot of things to get done and I never seem to have enough hours in the day.
So the way I do this is, I take all of those stolen moments throughout the day, and I put them to use achieving the SMART goals that I already laid out. So maybe, in those 10-15 minutes that I’m waiting for the patient to get to pre-op, I manage to do 2-3 of the questions. But even just a sprinkling of those stolen moments throughout the day, and I can get through it. Another goal I might have is to actually read the chapter I’ll be lectured on in morning didactics the next day (hit or miss if I make it happen, to be honest). I probably can’t read the entire chapter in one sitting, but I can certainly chip away at it, one section at a time.
So that’s tip number three, to create a separation between your work and personal life by finding stolen moments where you can. The value of this strategy is that it focuses your mental energy within an allotted time to maximize your efficiency overall. By using this strategy, you can set yourself up to make a successful transition from work brain to creative brain once you go home.
4) Close Your Loops
Tip number four is to wrap everything up, either before you leave the hospital (or wherever your workplace is), or as soon as you get home. The value to doing this for me is that I’m still in the right mindset. I’m still thinking like a medical student and can be really efficient at achieving the last few academic goals I had for myself that day. This is also a great time to make a list of things you want to accomplish the next day so that you’re not thinking about it right before you get ready to go to sleep (More on that next week!).
So as tempting as it may be, that means not vegging out on the couch as soon as I walk back into my hotel room, flipping through Netflix and trying to find something to numb my brain. It means channeling my energy while I still have it and making that final push to meet my goals. Because the reality is, as soon as you meet your goals, your brain will feel so much less cluttered. That’s because you’ve set your goals for the day, you’ve met them, and you no longer need to feel guilty.
This is also a wonderful point at which to reevaluate your goals. If you need to adjust them, go for it! If you’re halfway through the rotation and still have absolutely no idea what’s going on, then you should adjust your goals so you feel prepared and able to function at your best.
5) Find Satisfaction
But at some point, you need to find satisfaction. This is huge. You don’t need to feel guilty that you aren’t doing more Qbank questions, more flashcards, more Anki. You aren’t reading more papers, doing more suture labs. You set yourself a goal and when you meet that goal, you congratulate yourself and you say, “Well done.” I cannot tell you how many medical students I have met who are incapable of this point. Part of that is normal, we all have drive. You need it to make it to medical school and you need it to do well once you’re there. So it’s understandable that it takes a lot to make us feel satisfied with the work we’ve put in.
But there comes a time when constant hyper-drive becomes self-destructive. So if you’re meeting your goals and achieving the level that you think is necessary, then give yourself time and space. Fill that time with something that will make you happy and that will make you a full person. Because you are not just a medical student, ok? I talked about this last week also, but it’s a trap I’ve often fallen into myself, believing that all my worth and value is tied up in one area of my life. And it’s simply not true.
So that’s it for today! I hope you found these tips helpful as you try to set yourself up for successfully transitioning between whatever responsibilities you face each day. I’ll see you next week for a follow-up post where we discuss the transition process itself, and how I try to recapture the creative spirit after a long day in the hospital.
In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below with any tips or tricks you have for achieving that coveted work-life balance!
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The post Making the Creative Transition, Part I appeared first on H.B. Reneau.
August 3, 2020
Living Life at the Intersection
If there’s one question that I’ve been asked non-stop since starting this authorship journey, it’s “Why now?” “Why not wait?” “Don’t you have enough on your plate between medical school, traveling for clerkship rotations, meeting Air Force physical fitness requirements, etc.?” And the answer is, most definitely, yes.
Of course all of those things are a part of my life, and a part of my life that I value. But if the recent COVID-19 epidemic has taught me anything, it’s that surety is a luxury these days that few can afford. Who knows what the next few years will bring? Who can say what disruptions will alter the rhythms of our lives?
When COVID-19 hit, I was one of the many medical students turned away from an overrun hospital system. I felt lost, unsure how to spend my time and grappling with the same uncertainties that were plaguing everybody. Here I was having studied and trained for years and the moment arrives when the world needs healthcare professionals more than ever…and I’m completely useless.
Writing became an outlet for me, a solace that gave my days purpose and meaning. It both helped me make sense of the world around me and transported me away from it, to a world whose problems were just different enough that I could half-forget that they were really our own.
I’m back in the hospitals now, and hopefully set to finish my training on time and become a physician. But if there’s one thing that COVID has taught me, it’s that I can’t depend on just one thing to bring me happiness in this life. I love medicine and am thrilled to be a student doctor. But I also love to write and I’m happy to say that there’s room in my life for both.
What’s more, there’s room in your life too.
Maybe you’re an accountant, a teacher, a pastor, or a police officer. Those are all wonderful and worthy things to be, but they are not all that you are. This is a trap that I fell into for years, and one I think medical students are particularly guilty of: thinking of themselves as some uni-dimensional entity. You are not one thing.
It’s really important that you realize this. Because in life, inevitably, there will come a day when you find yourself failing at that one thing. You won’t get the promotion, you’ll fail an exam, or you’ll have a bad parenting day. You will fail, and the key to surviving failure is to not have one aspect of your life being the sole source for your identity and sense of self-worth.
So give yourself permission to explore your passions and be a happy, healthy person. For me, that’s writing, being creative. It’s embracing another way of using my brain, my time, and my energy.
Find your passions. Live life at the intersection.
NextMaking the Creative Transition, Part INext
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