I came across this quote today while cleaning my office:

The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.

— Chinese proverb

I really needed to read that.

I have tried to move a mountain with a bulldozer, big chunks at a time, in my impatient way of doing things, and it is not going well…

I haven’t even opened the file that contains my novel in weeks. This alone makes me feel like a big loser instead of a writer working on a novel. I have started many novels in my life and got distracted by something (or just got bored with the story), only to abandon them to the bottom drawer.

I can’t let that happen to this one – it is too good.

I worry that I won’t be able to get back into the groove after weeks have gone by. From a distance, the novel becomes an immense, complicated project and completely out of my league. Self-doubt gnaws at me with familiar voices. “You’re wasting your time,” “You write like a kid,” “It’s way too corny to be taken seriously” – and those are the nice ones.

Funny how one sentence can put things into a new perspective – that encourages and gives hope. A sentence that states a simple truth, that can be applied to many things for many people.

Yes, my novel is a huge undertaking and overwhelming when I dwell on it. If I just take it one small section, one chapter, at a time, then I can get it finished.

Thank You, Chinese monks, writing proverbs.
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photo credit: ed 37 ~~ via photopin