Friday, September 9, 2011

That Initial Leap—Right off a Cliff

Last weekend, I jumped off a cliff.

Yes, I’m serious. And no, I wasn’t pushed, unless by pushing you mean my kids counting down so my husband could snap the shutter while I was in the air.

Don’t worry. I landed in water. Clean, clear, warm water, and it felt fantastic once I was in it. The harder part was getting up the guts to bend my knees and take the initial leap.

Actually, it felt a little reminiscent of my journey as a writer. First, it was hard admitting to myself that I wanted to write—like, actual books. Then it was hard to finish that my beginner's crap manuscript, and later subject my work to critique, then to start submitting / querying.

Clicking send for the first time (and many, many times after that) felt highly similar to that dive I took the other day. Really, really scary when you’re on the cliff looking down, but highly incredible once it’s over and you’re in the water. Even if you know you’re going to have to swim to shore and climb up to take the leap again, once you’re there, a small body swimming around an enormous lake (or ocean), it feels absolutely incredible to know you’ve done a brave thing and survived.

What brave things have you done lately?

4 comments:

Angela said...

You have such a positive outlook. Plus, you're brave. I've never jumped from such a high spot before.

Christine Fonseca said...

Great analogy - I'll be hitting the query game after a LONG hiatus in a few weeks. *bites nails* and yes, the cliff looks HIGH!

Carolyn V said...

That looks terrifying, but fun. I think the writing is the hardest leap I've taken. ;)

Angie said...

Wow. Good for you. I don't know if I'd be that brave. Writing does take a tremendous amount of courage.