Life doesn't come with a manual

I'm currently on a little break from writing actively. We have one room in the house we had been storing things in until we could finish off the interior. So, that time has come. We're working on getting everything out of the room so we can renovate it. There's a place for everything and everything is all over the place.

My latest book is likely to suffer from it for the time being. The second in series is on hold while we get the mess sorted.

We discovered a mouse had made entry and there is a lot of cleaning. We didn't notice the hole for it to come in...and come in it did. Though in our defense, we were getting help to move stuff and we had been busy renovating the rest of the property since so didn't look to see if there was something big that needed to be addressed before choosing to use it for storage. So, we're now cleaning up the additional mess and then renovating.

I can suggest for the DIY'ers out there, don't use electric tape to cover a hole that a mouse has used. That's what we discovered and can say it won't work. It might work for five minutes, but thereafter, it will be all bets off. We knew that and we didn't install it.

No one plans for the extra work that sometimes comes with renovating...nor the unexpected and unwanted guests that you weren't prepared for. Sometimes life happens between the other work.

It is a lesson that works for writing as well as in life. You have to deal with what is, not what is theoretically perfect. It's always a good idea to review things and act accordingly. Things don't always work out perfectly.

Another thing that I sometimes find is that there are so many books out there telling you how to write your book, how to get your book out, how to advertise, etc. Some of the ideas are good. Some of them are good if you aren't on a limited budget. Some of them seem to be made to discourage someone with a low budget from even trying when they list all the things that you 'should have.

Remember those with a larger budget can do things that lower budgets aren't able to do. Don't let anything stop you from going further. You are limited only when you let others tell you that you can't. Don't toss out the baby with the bath water. Check out things. You might find something that will work for you or give you some ideas. At worst, you can rule out things that just won't work for you. Everyone moves at a different speed. As long as you are moving, even slowly is still moving.

Be realistically unrealistic and make sure that you can deal with the unexpected detours that can come up in life and in your writing. Don't let paying attention to what everyone else is doing discourage you from doing what you can do. It doesn't do any good to become discombobulated when things don't go as expected. Just work with what you have and try to move forward. Be willing to check new information, learn from it, but know what will and won't work for you. Don't give up. If you are determined, you'll get a lot further than if you never try at all.

Part of my work with writing is opening new ideas and new vistas for both myself and for others. So, with this in mind, I keep working at my craft and try to be better and better still. It's a long road and some learning curve involved, but it is rewarding to find that you can improve over time. Just because you aren't the latest big thing doesn't mean that your work isn't worth doing well. When you determine who you are as an author and you work at improving your craft, there is a chance of being who you're meant to be.

Thanks for reading my blog and for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures!