Live from the octagon: Jenny vs. Book Two

I'm back! And I've actually missed blogging. Just wish I had more time and energy for it.

So last we talked, I was getting my ass kicked by my book. I can't even exaggerate – over the past few weeks, I've had a knock down, drag out, dirty ass fight with Book Two. And for a while, the book was winning. Which was unacceptable, because this was the main event, and I wanted to hold onto my title.

But round one went to the book.

Round two, book.

Round three, book.

Not good, kids, not good. This is an MMA fight, best of five (and before you boxing purists yell at me, I love boxing, too). By mid-August, I'd lost three rounds. The only way to win was to get the damned book to submit.

Finally, somewhere in chapter 19, I got my second wind. I made a massive change. A minor character took on a starring role, and from that point forward, I had momentum. I had flow. My instincts, which were all but dead, came back.

I saw my opening. I went for it. I got the take down. I finally got my book in a rear naked choke hold, and no way was I going to let go. And you know what?

The Book. Tapped. Out.

I won this fight – barely – but hey, a win is a win. Draft three is finally under control and I can see the finish line. Was it a perfect fight? Hell no. I'm watching the replays and I know where I went wrong. I know what not to do in future fights. I know what my weaknesses are and what needs the most work.

8 things I learned:

1. Stay hydrated. I gave up coffee. It was awful at first, but my concentration got better once I stopped peeing out all my bodily fluids.
2. Stay in shape. Train without overtraining. Plot without overplotting. Write without overwriting.
3. Take breaks. Little ones throughout the day, bigger ones on the weekends. I'm no good if I'm not rested.
4. Tell yourself nobody's watching. Even though everybody is. I was writing for everybody else but me, and I was choking. I needed to focus on writing for me.
5. Listen to your corner. Ask for feedback. Ask for support. That's what your team is there for. 
6. Envision the win. Every day. Picture it, meditate on it, ACT AS IF.
7. Accept the losses. Losing can be just as valuable as winning. It teaches you humility, it makes you hungry, and it makes you fight harder and better the next time. 
8. Perfection doesn't exist. Not in fighting, and not in writing. I'm not Superwoman – I can only do so much, and it's either good enough, or it's not. But either way, I'll be fine. Still here. Still growing. Still learning. Still fighting. Still writing.

And you know what else helped? YOU GUYS. Your comments, your emails, and your tweets cheered me on. Amazing what can happen when you have the support of a community. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

So? How's your summer been? What'd I miss? Been in any good fights lately?

* * *