HOLD ON WHILE I SWITCH HORSES

By Christina Hamlett

It seems only fitting in this Year of the Horse that I pen an equine-centric article about choosing horses, staying courses and recognizing whether you’re in the right race at all. 

The expression about not switching horses in midstream dates back almost two centuries and carries both positive and negative connotations. During wartime, swapping out one’s mount in mid-battle assured greater strength when it counted. Likewise, a jockey had better chances of winning a race on a horse that wasn’t as tired. The phrase embraced political meaning in 1864 when Abraham Lincoln cautioned against changing candidates or policies in the middle of a presidential campaign. It subsequently found new meaning in the corporate sector with the advice that experimental shuffling of existing strategies can sometimes be detrimental to consumer trust.

REASSESSING LOGISTICS

Like many writers, you probably have multiple projects which interest you but singled out one with a bold quest for completion. Unfortunately, somewhere at the middle point (or sooner), you discover you’re in over your head. This is not unlike a rider who realizes (1) my horse is really short and (2) this stream’s much deeper than it looked when I started. Maybe you underestimated the amount of research you’d have to do. Maybe you’re not well versed in the genre. Maybe outside distractions are limiting the time you can reasonably devote. Rather than push yourself into even deeper and more frustrating dilemmas, sometimes the best thing to do is to recalibrate your path (i.e., a short story instead of a novel, a different genre, an alternate POV) or simply pause this particular journey until greater clarity ensues. Oftentimes stepping away from mental cul-de-sacs helps one return with a fresh set of eyes.

BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS

There’s nothing more exciting than a new idea to capture your imagination, especially if you’re bored or burnt-out with a current project. Flitting from one bright shiny object to the next, however, can be likened to relationships and serial dating. Specifically, if you can’t identify what caused you to bail in the first place, you’re probably doomed to keep repeating it. Among the common culprits: (1) day-to-day familiarity lessens that initial giddy spark of intrigue, (2) the silence of the blank page feels stifling, (3) the fantasy of spending time with other characters becomes all-consuming, (4) avoidance reflects a belief there’s no future in moving forward and (5) it takes too much effort to invest one’s heart and soul. Not every project is going to be the best fit for your personality just as not everyone you meet will be your soulmate. Stay open to possibilities but don’t expect replacements to automatically fix what you may have broken yourself.

SELF-DOUBTS

Years ago I ran a women’s writing group which met once a month to critique each other’s work and offer encouragement. One of the participants would listen to feedback and then return next session with a completely different project. When I finally asked her why she kept doing this, she said the criticism only reinforced she wasn’t very good. Caught up in the comparison trap with her peers (as well as established authors she admired), she let her inner critic outshout her confidence and convince herself no one would buy her work even if she did try to sell it. “Imposter syndrome” hadn’t been coined yet but that’s what she had—a belief that she and her stories didn’t deserve an audience. Instead of recognizing that every book, every voice, every writer is different and proceeds at their own pace, her whole focus was on “If it doesn’t happen immediately, it’s not going to happen at all.” Even if she had ever had the first horse out of the starting gate, she’d likely drop behind the moment she saw any competition gaining on her and deciding the race was already lost.

TRUSTING YOUR MUSE (AND INTUITION)

My latest release, WINTER HEARTS, began as a short story 15 years ago and was intended to eventually be part of a collection. As other priorities emerged, it was relegated to what I call my “big box of stuff” and was not found again until last Thanksgiving.

I suspect my mischief-making late husband had a hand in moving it to the top of the stack that it might coincide with an issue I’ve been grappling with since his death three years ago. Specifically, could I ever entertain the idea of new companionship after a long and happy marriage which meant everything to me? Insiders who have known me for years can likewise draw comparisons between my own life as the only daughter of wealthy parents and that of Ellie, my widowed protagonist.

Had I not escaped to theatre when I was 19, I would very likely have been married off to someone of my family’s choosing and had an existence carefully curated by everyone except me. The more I explored these two conflicting layers I wanted to introduce to the expanded plot, the more compelled I was to put my current projects on a backburner and work exclusively on WINTER HEARTS to finish by Valentine’s Day.

Yes, I switched horses midstream but I intuitively knew the one I was choosing for its strength and stamina would deliver me where I needed to go on a tight deadline. With, of course, the whispered encouragement of my muse…

The final chapter also brought forth an unexpected epiphany which has as much bearing on romantic/life choices as it does to managing/completing one’s quests as a writer: You will get what you want but not until you have made the room for it. 

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Former actress and theatre director Christina Hamlett is the author of 54 books, 280 stage plays and squillions of articles and blogs. Along with being a gourmet chef and photographer, she teaches distance learning classes in screenwriting, playwriting and cozy mysteries through WOW! Women on Writing. Learn more at www.authorhamlett.com.

WINTER HEARTS

A lifetime ago, Ellie Lipton closed a chapter in her heart when family pressure and society expectations forced her first true love to return to his native Russia. Half a century after the Cold War ended their young romance, Dmitri Kuznekov is now a celebrated playwright visiting Washington, D.C. for the American debut of his latest drama at National Theatre.

On the pretense of offering congratulations, Ellie gives in to her curiosity about whether she has been the only one with conflicted emotions. Though Dmitri confesses that she has never been far from his fondest dreams, theirs is a reunion not without the challenge of even more dangerous obstacles. After navigating the choices and outcomes which Fate respectively scripted for them a world apart, is a second chance at happiness finally within reach…or just a book of memories which best remains closed?

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