Day 80

In the same way staring at a treadmill can make you feel like you are almost exercising, reading about writing can make you feel like you are almost writing.  I love reading about writing, it's my guilty pleasure.  

I came across one of those articles where a writer who is currently hang-gliding on a thermal of literary success is asked about their writing process. These type of interviews tend to crack me right up.  Do you write in the morning or the afternoon? Where do you write? Do you write a set number of words per day? Do you wear red socks? There is an unspoken desperation to these questions where the subtext is, if I do EXACTLY what you did, will I also get a multi-book deal published in 30 languages and a movie deal.  Will I? Will I? (I imagine if they asked a concert pianist about their process they would laugh and say, 'Process? I practise 10 hours a day, 7 days a week, that's my mysterious process.') 

Anyway, the writer in question said she has a sign on the wall of her study (she writes in a study, we have that much in common, things are looking good for the book deal) that reads KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. I think it was a saying the British trotted out during the war when the place was getting bombed into next week, to make sure people didn't become hysterical, best to keep a stiff upper lip old chap, and all that.

The writer said even when her words were dead on the page and sounded beyond dreadful (and boy, we've all been there), the sign helps her through the fear and insecurity so intrinsic to writing. I like it in relation to writing but I also love it in relation to health.  Despite the daily dumpings of new dietary information and misinformation, of fads and big personalities, of celebrities draping themselves over  dubious products and photoshopped fitspiration images, we simply have to find our own quiet truth about health and ignore the nonsense. Basically chaps, we need to KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. 

Cheerio!

Indigo Kate x