Woo Woo

By Pauline Evanosky

Hi everybody. Happy New Year! I hope your holidays have been fun.

I want to talk about resolutions today. Traditionally, folks use the new year as a time to decide on things they want to get done in the coming year. I always have a bunch of things I’d like to do. Many times, I never get to them, or I get sidetracked along the way.

And then I am angry at myself.

So, the goal here is to get more stuff done without getting angry at yourself.

Many times, when you set a project out for yourself to do, there could be a steep learning curve involved. Say, for instance, you want to learn a new language.

As with writing, you need to set aside time to work on it. I used to think I didn’t have any time for writing. I began in earnest back when I was still working a full-time job. It just didn’t seem to be any room, and for years this put the kibosh on any real writing I did. I blamed my working life on interfering with what I really wanted to do.

How did I solve it? I took one of Toy Robbin’s courses. It was in the days before we had the internet, but we did have computers, where I do my best writing. I checked out a cassette tape of his course from the library. Since then, I’ve attended a couple of seminars that Tony gives periodically. That’s enough to pump you up. And, yes, you can pay money for these things or sit in on the first few days for free.

My solution? I realized there were no extra hours in the day to write. There was never going to be the perfect time to do it. So, I started getting up earlier. And that solved my problem. As time went on, I began to grab whatever moments were free when I was at home to write. Mostly, it was in my journals. And journals are an excellent place to start when you feel like you’d like to write something.

It’s good for the heart when you can pour your heart out. Number one, you’re not asking for opinions, nor are you going to frustrate or cause concern among family and friends. You just stand on your soapbox and shout to the world in your journal.

After years of doing this, it became an ingrained habit. Where I could sit down and write without needing a reason, and that is when eventually the blank-page syndrome stopped bothering me. If the phone rings, I can answer it. If somebody rings the doorbell, I can attend to that.

So, if it is Spanish you want to learn, decide for yourself how many sessions a week and how long you will need. Yes, you are constrained if you’ve got a job, but I know you can do it. I did. And I am not the most efficient person on the face of the earth. I have feet of clay just like anybody else. But I also know I can do stuff.

The other thing with a journey toward something. There may be times you need to detour. Maybe you discover that you’re not sticking to your schedule. Put in place some sort of incentive to address that. Ask yourself what could be a reward if you get the job done? If you were a kid, I’d offer you a bribe with a cookie or a visit to the park. Or, whatever. Can you trick your adult self into doing what you want?

I think you can. I'm working on myself.

For instance, I’ll write like a house on fire. Boom, one article written. Boom, another article written. Now, it’s getting near lunchtime. Boom, I start another article, and I’m about halfway through. I decide to eat lunch, or brunch, which usually is what happens to me. I settle down to read a book. Or I turn on YouTube and come up for air a couple of hours later. Do I want to finish the article? Usually, not. By that time, I’m ready for a nap.

In the last couple of weeks, I made a new rule for myself. I would not allow a partially written story to hang around. I did that for so long that my 12 file (where I put partially finished articles) is about 54 pages long. The rule there was that I’d snag one every once in a while and finish it. Except I never did.

Now, I have one document that I write in. I call it Doc 2. It’s got a schedule on it for all my upcoming articles, so I can keep that straight and meet my self-imposed obligations, but I will also finish it the day I start it.

In my articles for my WooWoo column here at PencilStubs, I always allow them to percolate for a couple of days. I might finish this one tomorrow or the day after. Generally, I will be able to do some editing once I’ve got an article on a platform like Medium, Substack, or my own website. With the WooWoo articles, I need some space to come back and make them more informative and/or interesting.

Anyway, that’s how I handle my writing.

But what about learning Spanish? I have a lifetime membership with Rosetta Stone. Every year, these platforms start having half-off sales around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I did that one year and have access to any number of languages to learn. The other thing I did a couple of weeks ago was to purchase a year’s membership for Lingopie.com at half price. You get to watch all sorts of television shows, movies, documentaries, and cartoons in your preferred language. I also already have a bazillion books for learning Spanish. Such a wealth of resources is available. Plus, if you wanted to, you could go to ChatGPT.com and have a conversation with it in another language to practice.

It seems that learning Spanish and taking the courses I like on Masterclass don’t have the same importance as I give to my writing.

How to address it?

Somebody in Spirit just told me to write in Spanish. Ha, that’s a joke. Donde esta? Where are you? Except there is an accent missing and another upside-down question mark in front of the question. My Spanish is severely lacking right now. I mean, it is terrible. But I’m getting older. I find myself forgetful on occasion, and I need to stimulate some brain cells. My resolutions for the new year? Give more importance to the time I need to learn Spanish and attend my classes on Masterclass.com. Right now, I’m taking a class about acting with Samuel L. Jackson. Not that I’m going to be acting, just as a writer, I felt the need to really get to know my characters when I start writing fiction.

It also occurred to me to write my Spanish dialogue and words in longhand in a notebook.

So, my WooWoo life is the same as yours. Pretty much, and I’ve got the same problems keeping my resolutions as anybody else. I hope, though, that I might have encouraged you to set your expectations higher for yourself this time around. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year.

Love, 🌺
Pauline Evanosky 🌺