Don't drive tired....

this post is for a friend. A friend who is feeling like the car battery is about to die as she inches forward on the dark road toward book publication.

The road to the town of Publication is perpetually in darkness with leaning lamposts hit by drunk and overconfident drivers leaving the rest of us to crawl forward with our headlamps on full. No wonder we go through car batteries so often. No wonder the fuel doesn't last as long as it should. How many miles have I walked with a gerry can that needs refilling and so often at exorbitant prices. And even when we arrive the town is not quite like we imagined it and our real destination is still further on, along an even darker road filled with potholes, hazards that loom out of the gloom and treacherous fantasy creatures who want to suck our blood or chirpy skippy little animals that try to lure us with promises of easy money. I might stop along the way but I always get back on the road and keep going forward to a destination I cannot see and am not sure of.

So why do we do it? It took me a while to figure out that I could never really give up because my writing is like politician Don Brash - it refuses to go away. I can shun it, and throw things at it, but even a flame thrower wouldn't put paid to my desire to write and my desire to succeed at writing. I have given in to this awkward dark twin that shadows me wherever I go. Sometimes we are better friends than other times. There are battle scars. I have plotted terrible things against it but it will only die when I die. So I don't give up anymore, but I respect my need to stop at that roadside motel sometimes and watch bad tv and let the twin observe the locals. Even though it seems like it sometimes, my twin is not the enemy and we both benefit from a break. There are places to recharge the battery. And to refuel. Never drive tired ... especially in the dark. And sometimes all we need to hear is a friendly voice, from a fellow traveller.

Some road rules to prevent you from crashing
1. Its okay to stop and see the sights on the way. Even though its a delay and your destination will take longer to get to, its good to make the journey more enjoyable.
2. Take the time to talk to fellow travellers - they understand the journey and its good to share information about any shorcuts to where you want to go
3. Don't let the twin boss you around. You are partners on this trip
4. Don't burn any bridges. Just cos you've been over that bridge, doesn't mean you might not need to go over it again
4. Stay in the flasher hotels sometimes, with the bigger choclates on the pillows, and bigger pillows, and a lifeguard at the pool.