CHRYSANTHEMUMS!! Yay! Love this metaphor.

Taking time to be stunned isn't a bad thing, Darcy. I think the whole world would do well to take a little time like that on occasion. But you're going to inspire those around you as you find your way back from the blows you've been dealt. And you'll have so much to say about the hard stuff - universal stuff that will resonate with readers and make change. EVEN if you do it under a brand new name! And EVEN if you smell different from the other birds.

Lord, there are a lot of bird metaphors, aren't there? I think I've started something...lol
#OddBirdsUnite

I think being authentic is probably the best compliment anyone could pay me, so thank you for that, Renea. It's most important to me in life and in writing. I find that navigating marketing really isn't all that complicated if you are simply yourself. 🙂

As for walking away - I think you're wise to know the difference between the good stuff and the junk. I hold onto most of my writing pieces so I can look back and get a good laugh - kidding! Well, sort of. I keep what I think has merit. But I'm not very good at keeping piles of stuff, so I have to MAKE myself save things.

As for lugging around the past, now that I can identify with in an emotional sense. This year has been a personal struggle watching loved ones combat addiction, recovery from abuse, dealing with my own obsessional thinking, triggers, fear and trauma. Stuff that would make a dreamy novel, IF I could write it. So for me, the idea of building a new nest and freshening things up is about perspective and courage and faith. Seems to me...we're ALL on the same journey, eh? xo
#TeamRebuild #OddBirdsUnite

Then again, sometimes the ground is a good place to be because at least you cannot fall any further. Also, when I look around a lot of people are there with me. Sometimes I can help them get airborne again, and that feels good too, and makes me feel lighter, so I float a bit.

Renea, about purging and throwing away - I believe it is one of the healthiest things one can do. My house is cluttered due to a general unwillingness to get rid of stuff. I am part of the problem too - "If we chuck that out today we will need it tomorrow" "We might find the pair sometime" "Maybe we can still fix it" - there are so many rationalisations as to why one does not throw things out. The result is that one loses things in the clutter, wastes time trying to find things in the clutter, has to live around the clutter, has to pick up the clutter to clean around and under it, has to re-pile it when it gets knocked over, has to clean extra stuff that got in the way when something gets spilled.... there is a LOT of extra stress attached to keeping stuff unnecessarily. This goes for physical and psychological clutter. I salute you for purging,

In the case physical stuff I am starting to realise that part of the solution is to fail to acquire stuff in the first place 😉 But in writing that won't work - the more the merrier - then chuck out the worst and keep the best. But DON'T hang onto it just because it is there. It is just clutter that will dilute, obscure and minimise your best. Like the japanese gardener who cut down an entire bed of chrysanthemums except for one, perfect bloom. Because its perfection was lost in the crowd.

I had a rather painful fall from my nest not once, but twice in the last year or so - spent too much time sitting stunned on the ground. I finally had to give myself permission to take those short bursts of flight, hope finding wings. One way I've hit upon to jump back into the writing world, is to re-invent myself. I've decided on a pseudonym to publish under. Just having this new persona, this new nest, if you will, has given me a lot of joy. I'm excited again about engaging with all my fellow writer friends that I've felt so distanced from lately.

Sometimes we just need that time away, to heal, to molt and grow new feathers. 🙂
So glad you are back in your stride. You and your writing deserve to shine!

I don't know about that, Orly. As another commenter said, the ground can be a dangerous place...

Thanks, Wendy! Very true - rebuild or walk away. #TeamRebuild #OddBirdsUnite

Aw, Sharon. Thank you!