Permission from the Universe to Write - May Theme by Tamera Wissinger

Whether it’s a learned work ethic from my Midwestern upbringing or something that comes naturally, I’m the type of person who feels the need to get my work done before I can play. It’s something about myself that I like – for the most part. I enjoy working hard and looking forward to something fun to do later. When it came to writing, though, I struggled. Because writing was fun and it was always something I looked forward to doing after my work was done. The problem was, the “real work” never seemed to be done and so the fun of writing constantly took a back seat.

Then one day, I either looked at my horoscope or received wisdom from a fortune cookie. It said, simply:

Expand your definition of work.

Five small words, but the message was huge. If I expanded my definition of work to include my writing, then writing would be something that I needed to attend to, not something that was relegated to any leftover time I might have in my day. It felt as though the universe had given me permission to write  – and when the universe speaks so clearly, I pay attention.  

Writing isn’t my top priority or only priority, but now it is one of my priorities – something that’s both a joy and hard work. Thank goodness for this small message that helped me change how I think about writing and how I write.

~~~~~

Tamera Wissinger is the author of GONE FISHING: A Novel in Verse, THIS OLD BAND, and the forthcoming THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO GOBBLED A SKINK (02/2016) and GONE CAMPING (2017). She is a graduate of Hamline University’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program where writing for children is serious work. Now Tamera attends to the work and play of writing nearly every day.