The Week of Weakness

Yep. Hurts to type. But let's see what I've accomplished thus far.

Accomplishments: gained strength, gained perspective, gained weight

Here's a tip: make a list of everything you plan to do for the week. That way, at the end of the week you can see how little of the list has been finished, and feel free to indulge in calories.

I have eaten a lot of ice cream. I'd like to blame the kids for this one, but really nowadays they sigh, roll their eyes and say, "Ice cream? Again? I don't wanna go." What is it about ice cream that fills me with pure glee? I have no trouble finishing it. In fact, it's the one thing I'm certain I can complete within the proper deadline. The deadline being its melt-point. So don't judge me. I'm only human.

I have been to two physical therapy sessions. In the first one, the young lady (I'm old enough to call her that...she's a college intern!) massaged my neck to "undo the knots in my muscles." Would you like to know how that feels? Let me show you. Grab a heavy hammer. Slam it into your ass. Try to sit comfortably the next day. It's about that much fun. But a few days later, it really made a difference and I was grateful for the initial torture.

Now the good stuff. I invited my friend and a trusted co-writer, Dave Sanchez, to collaborate on a screenplay I wrote specifically for Hallmark. We've already written a Christmas movie that the producer peeps at Hallmark are hopefully enjoying. The idea for the screenplay I wrote this summer came from an evening where I had an unexplainable fever and was feeling exhausted to the point of near-delusion. And at that moment, a story formed in my head. I immediately spoke the details into my iPhone in order to be able to work with it later. While my collarbone healed, I painstakingly typed part of it into WriterDuet (where Dave and I make our magic happen) using the forefinger of my non-dominant hand. And this past week, I completed the first draft and then sent it to Dave for review. Trust me, that was a big, stinking, deal.

A writer friend asked me to look over her short story (for money!) to see why the judges of a competition she'd entered gave her low marks. We'll meet Friday in person and I'll share my thoughts with her and then guide her to improving it. She's a very strong writer already, but she writes memoirs, not fiction, so this is a new genre for her. I'm excited to see her try her hand at it. Did I mention she offered to pay me for my time? This would be my first paid gig since the Capture the Flag mishap.

But I think the most important thing I accomplished this week was gaining some of my confidence back. Writing is a tough profession. It's right up there with painting, playing an instrument, acting for stage or television. It takes gobs of time and loads of failure before reaching a higher level. And every time we reach a pinnacle, we realize how much further we have yet to go. A couple weeks ago I broke down and cried because of all the setbacks I've had. Not just the broken collarbone, but so many other things that get in the way of completing a goal. But in the end, I told myself, "You can do this. For one thing, you have nothing to lose at this point. For another, you have worked hard for this." So I allowed myself my frustrated tears, and then I straightened my shoulders *insert clavicle twinge-pain here* and promised I would NOT GIVE UP!

I meant I would not give up ice cream, of course. Goodness, what else would I be talking about?