I am getting close to picking the designer for my first book.  This part is hard, and I was whining to them about making a mistake.  Of course, the biggest mistake is to agonize over the decision and make it take longer, but hey, I don’t want to Do It Wrong.  In the meantime I was bogged down by all this, which Carolyn and Noriko picked up immediately.

People have written a lot about this place.  In coaching school they called it “The Dip.”  When I had an IT company and we were in the middle of a big installation that looked like it would never get finished, I called it being in “the valley of the shadow of death,” (thanks to the anonymous psalmist).  Whatever it’s called, you’re supposed to recognize that these dips happen, even when you’re doing work you love, like I am; and you’re supposed to Slog Through.

The part that was fun in the coaching was the idea that I could slog through this with a different attitude.  I am an eccentric person, so weird things like puppets and sequined scarves and cat-eyed rhinestone glasses and 12 different colors of white board markers make me feel better already.

The coaches showed me it’s possible to slog eccentrically, which makes it feel less swamp-like and more fun.  It’s  possible to wear cat-eye rhinestone glasses while slogging, which makes me laugh.  It’s possible to make the whole thing less of a slog.  Evidently all you need is some rhinestones.  Or maybe some sequins.