One Trick Ponies & Gremlins
I’ve come to realize that sometimes once you say something out loud, like, literally use your voice and express out loud some thought that’s been rattling around your brain, you very suddenly recognize how insane or inaccurate the thought is. This can work even if no one was there to hear the thought, though my experience has been saying it out loud to someone else adds an additional layer of “proof.”
Some years ago, after I had been working w/a writing coach, I started calling those nasty voices in my head that are trying to convince me all the Bad Things were true gremlins. “I’ve got a gremlin in my head telling me I’m a terrible human being because of X.” Giving them their own entity alone was surprisingly helpful.
Then one day, I realized I had a gremlin that was absolutely INSISTENT that I was a “one-trick pony.” I had written one dragon story and gotten it published but that was obviously a fluke. Obviously! I had no other ideas (lie). I had no other stories to tell. (lie) No one would ever want to read anything else I wrote. (lie) And I can still remember being on a call w/that coach and saying that out loud, that one of my fears was being a one-trick pony.
Followed by sharing the half dozen ideas I had percolating or in process. I already had 3-4 full novels started by then. I’d had at least one short story published, maybe two. And I don’t recall which idea it was, but a brand new idea had just occurred to me that week or so. And I thought “Shut! Up! Gremlin! You’re a moron! I couldn’t be a one trick pony if I tried!” ( 🤣 )
This week I’ve been at my writer desk every morning. Doing something with one of my writing projects.
– Monday and Tuesday I finished a short story. (3rd completed one in a series that has at least a half dozen FMCs to write about)
– Yesterday I worked on my child-free coffee table book, Screaming Child in Aisle 4 – 101 Reasons to NOT have Children. (2nd, separate idea/project).
– This morning I opened up all my short romance files so I could figure out where I stood and which one i wanted to work on next.
– While looking at files, I ran across my draft for Tales from the Cube – tales of the worst office dwellers you hope you never have to work with. (Idea 3).
– Plus, inside of one of the romance files I found a folder for my Chimera Family series. (Idea 4). And that’s just this morning!
My point? Two fold. First, personally, this morning I get to “count” this work as progress towards my writing career. The only “valid” effort is not writing new material. Considering all the other goings on in the rest of my life, anything towards my goals counts. Second, for y’all, name your gremlins. Give them a moment to say their piece. Repeat it out loud. Look around your world. Maybe ask a trusted coach or friend and then tell that gremlin to STFU. Sadly, I can basically guarantee that another gremlin will take the first’s place. But, the more often you recognize them and call them out, the easier it is to recognize them and call them out.
Here is a pic of a few of the middle Anti-Virtuous names I’ve jotted down to write about. There are 35 total right now. Ha! one trick pony he says. ROFL.
