I'm supposed to be knitting right now... But that's pretty much all I've done today, so my hands are going to take a little break here. :)
One thing that I find to hold true in life is that if I write a goal down, it is much, much easier to make it come to pass. If I can see the words with my own eyes, rather than just knowing that it's in my head and in my heart, it causes me to realize that it's not just a dream. It's a reality that I will make happen. Someone one said to me that they perceived me as a dreamer: That I have big ideas, but I never actually accomplish anything. That remark stung for a little while, but then I cast it aside. That person doesn't know me very well. I AM a dreamer. But I'm also a do'er. And a person who knows when to bide her time. I have a list of things that I want to accomplish, and some things on there have reached that stage of accomplishment. Some are still in the midst of being finished, and some still need a couple years of waiting. But I know from experience that since I've written those things down, I have a much higher chance of having them come to pass.
So right now, I'm going to write (er, type) something down that I want to happen, and I see it happening, but I need to see these words to keep me going:
I'm writing my first book.
I would really like this book to be titled, "To Sing With Goats", but titles are something I save for the end, so it may end up something completely different...
Part memoir, and part 'how-to guide' about dairy goats and raising them, I'm trying to create a book that's written on a more personal level than most goat books are, these days. I want it to have a feel of having a conversation with an old friend, but at the same time be informative and accurate.
I've been working on the manuscript a little bit each day, and it's gone from a far-of-and-away dream, to something that is taking on a material shape. In my mind I am starting to see the pages... I see the pictures and where I want them. I can feel the book. Smell the ink... It's growing into something more than a thought and a hope.
But it's also very challenging... I am certainly not the best writer in these parts. Shucks, when I sit down at this computer, all the words I wanted to say just fly out of my head! I love writing though. I like seeing how my thoughts can go from something in my head, to something visible. Words intrigue me. I like seeing them come together to form sentences and paragraphs, as well as comparing writing styles from various authors. But then I wonder if writing is something I can truly do, and be good at. My hands and my head have for so long honed in on physical work. I can butcher livestock, milk dairy animals, help assist animal births, garden, buck hay... Can this workaholic of a country girl really tame herself enough to conform to the rigors of writing? I see people who say that they make it a goal to write at least 1,500 words each day. I'm not going to tell you how many I've been doing. It's nowhere near that number. My excuse for the moment though, is that it's because I'm so busy making the knitted goats. But sometimes, when I sit down to work on that manuscript, I feel a case of writer's block come on. I will have an entire chapter figured out in my head, and then I sit down and --- forget it all!! Argh!
One goal is to give the book a more "fun, and personal" flavor to it. Almost like a blend between this blog, and my goat workshops. A small example would be my Table of Contents. I'm only going to share a few with y'all, and these are still very tentative, so they may change, but at the moment I have chapter names that look like this:
Part memoir, and part 'how-to guide' about dairy goats and raising them, I'm trying to create a book that's written on a more personal level than most goat books are, these days. I want it to have a feel of having a conversation with an old friend, but at the same time be informative and accurate.
I've been working on the manuscript a little bit each day, and it's gone from a far-of-and-away dream, to something that is taking on a material shape. In my mind I am starting to see the pages... I see the pictures and where I want them. I can feel the book. Smell the ink... It's growing into something more than a thought and a hope.
But it's also very challenging... I am certainly not the best writer in these parts. Shucks, when I sit down at this computer, all the words I wanted to say just fly out of my head! I love writing though. I like seeing how my thoughts can go from something in my head, to something visible. Words intrigue me. I like seeing them come together to form sentences and paragraphs, as well as comparing writing styles from various authors. But then I wonder if writing is something I can truly do, and be good at. My hands and my head have for so long honed in on physical work. I can butcher livestock, milk dairy animals, help assist animal births, garden, buck hay... Can this workaholic of a country girl really tame herself enough to conform to the rigors of writing? I see people who say that they make it a goal to write at least 1,500 words each day. I'm not going to tell you how many I've been doing. It's nowhere near that number. My excuse for the moment though, is that it's because I'm so busy making the knitted goats. But sometimes, when I sit down to work on that manuscript, I feel a case of writer's block come on. I will have an entire chapter figured out in my head, and then I sit down and --- forget it all!! Argh!
One goal is to give the book a more "fun, and personal" flavor to it. Almost like a blend between this blog, and my goat workshops. A small example would be my Table of Contents. I'm only going to share a few with y'all, and these are still very tentative, so they may change, but at the moment I have chapter names that look like this:
- To Outwit A Goat -- Goat Behavior and understanding it
- The Ol' Nosebag and Fodder Box -- Feeds and Feeding
- Loose Shoulders and Toeing Out. Huh? -- Dairy Goat Conformation
- Smelly Bucks and Swooning Does -- Breeding
- Band-Aids, Baking Soda, and B-Complex -- Health
- The Ultimate Goal: Milk. (Now, how do you get it out of the goat?!?) -- Milking and handling raw milk
Again, those titles are pretty tentative, but it gives you a small idea of what I'm talking about.
The going is very slow, but maybe someday it will really turn into a book. For now, I'll have to depend on you guys, and my written list to keep me at the grindstone...
The going is very slow, but maybe someday it will really turn into a book. For now, I'll have to depend on you guys, and my written list to keep me at the grindstone...
Wow, I really like your table of contents!!
ReplyDeleteI love writing things down. :) I otherwise run around like crazy trying to remember my to do list.
I think that you are amazing at accomplishing your goals! I am very impressed with your dreaming and doing. ;)
So far, it sounds like a lovely book! I love goat books, and yes, you are right, many of them don't have that "personal" feel. Have you ever read "Goat Song" by Brad Kessler? If you haven't, you might like it! I read it this summer.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Writing a book sounds like such an exciting endeavor (even though I'm sure it doesn't feel that way when you're staring at your computer with writer's block). For me, starting big projects is always the hardest part. So you're off to a great start! What a wonderful way to spend the winter!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. :) Autumn, yes I have read 'Goat Song'! :D I found the book about a year after I started calling myself Goat Song, and read it because of the title. Now I read it because I love it. Brad Kessler is an awesome author, and he also has some really nice Nubian stock. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm writing my first book too. And I grew up with a goat herd (Saanens). And I love your blog! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, and you are so right about writing goals down. There's something to it that makes it all at once important, concrete, and achievable. You can do this!