Every project reaches a point of desperation. Your deadline looms, unanticipated problems arise, a key player calls in sick, shared files become corrupted, the hotel internet crashes, your car has a flat tire, and requires a towed. The mechanic phones saying the fuel pump has a leak and must be replaced. Then a product you need is back-ordered, and you don’t dare ask what else could go wrong. That is the precise moment when your laptop dies. You hear King Richard’s voice ringing in your ear, “A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!”

Multiply by ten and you have my week in a nutshell. These challenges are annoying, discouraging, and a fact of life. Whenever I make changes or create something new, the universe conspires to throw obstacles in my path. I like to be in control; I aspire to perfectionism and these setbacks try to infringe on my sacred writing time. In a perfect world, my house is in order, my head is clear, my soul is calm, and I sit at my pristine desk and write.

If I allowed my perfectionistic demands to interfere, I would never write. Instead, I embrace the imperfections. My screen flickers as I type, I disconnect and reconnect to the Wi-Fi, and remember to save my document often. The phone rings then it goes to voicemail. I narrow my focus, harden my resolve, and work with purpose. The project will be completed. The words may not be perfect, but now they exist, waiting for me.

Do you write despite difficult circumstances?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer