With a novel being queried to agents and a half-dozen short stories on submission to various lit mags, I find my mind drifting too frequently to that part of the writing business that exists outside of my control. The successes are exciting and exhilarating. But rejections are a part of this journey. Knowing that fact only lessons the sting. It still hurts.

I’m managing my anxiety through time with family and friends—laughter is truly the best medicine—and yoga. Yoga is a practice that melds body, mind, and soul through breath. It is calming and restorative, building strength and balance. Even a few minutes of yoga practice can be centering and grounding, refreshing and reinvigorating.

Yoga also serves as a reminder to me to focus on the part of the writing business that I do control: the daily practice of putting words to the page. The greatest achievement here is simply showing up.

In that spirit, I am diving like a dolphin into my next novel draft. It’s a project I’ve been churning around for a long time. The characters are compelling and keep pulling me back. The plot, as it’s developing, is thickening…swelling. I’m swimming in words. Making waves. I feel refreshed and reinvigorated. I’m writing…a new book.

Tanya