On Letting Go (and a snippet!)

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. --Havelock Ellis

Why can't I ever remember this?

I was stuck on revising a scene for days--it's possible I was stuck for more than a week, I can't really remember. During that time, I was absolutely miserable. Miserable!! My progress trickled to a complete stop and suddenly everything in my life was painted with the colors of failure. I walked around in a funk for days, feeling raw and easily defeated. It was awful.

Finally, I decided perhaps it wasn't that I was completely useless at revising--maybe just useless at revising that particular scene at that particular time. I made the decision to just abandon it and move on (which I hate. Hate!!).

The morning I made that decision, I decided to give it one last go, just for the hell of it. And, voila! I made progress. The scene still needs work, but it's in much better shape and, thank goodness, so am I.

This is a lesson I have had to learn over and over and over in my writing - sometimes it's better to let go of something, even if it's just for a while, than to hold on to it. (And sometimes it's better to hold on. The trick is understanding the difference, I guess.)

To celebrate my return to sanity, I present you with a snippet! :) This is a very terrible, torturous snippet between my MC, her rival, and their mutual love interest, in which there is Jealousy! Flirtation! and Heartache!

     She brightened. “In time to walk down to the pond?”
     “Probably.”
     “Maybe we’ll see the beavers again.” She grinned at him.
     He laughed. This time it wasn’t half-hearted. It was a you’re-so-cute kind of laugh. “Maybe.”
     I wanted to leave, but I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.
     “Okay, I’ll come down in a few.” She ran her fingers through her long, dark hair, gathering it over one shoulder.
     I watched his eyes follow the movement and my resolve broke. I took a step backwards, toward the door. He looked at me then, and I saw in his eyes that he’d forgotten about me for a moment.
     He tried to hide it, to cover it up by breaking into motion. “Okay, see you down there,” he said quickly and walked out.
     I guess I got my invisibility back.
     I, of all people, should have known to be more careful of what I wished for.