The middle is the hardest part

How do you know when you've reached the middle of a project?

For me, it's the sense that nothing is happening. It feels as if I've been stuck here, in the middle of a new set of journal pages, forever. I've written and doodled far too much to stop now and, still, the end is not in sight.

This is the part where I can no longer tell which prompts are good, which can be improved upon, and which should be deleted immediately. I feel, at moments, utterly unequal to the task.

This is the point at which I am also a little bored, to be honest, and desperate for distraction, but also ridiculously uncertain when it comes to posts, correspondence, and decisions about what to make for dinner. Because this is the part where it feels like I have nothing to share but anxiety, where I wake up in the middle of the night wondering why, exactly, I ever thought this was a good idea.

I am not at all fond of the middle, where all of the truly paralyzing doubts come to call, but I know that it is temporary. And necessary. This is where the work is done. This is the hardest part.

Soon enough, though, the end of the middle will be in sight. The border between all hope is lost and wow, I think I might be finished will be crossed and I can't wait to post from the other side.

What gets you through the never-ending middle of a project?

More good things . . .

Making slow progress on a new set of journal pages and working for a few moments on my letters.

What are you up to?

Practice vs. Practise

I love a good grammar dilemma!

Yesterday, I wrote about my efforts to improve my hand lettering.

I posted the following photo of my ongoing attempts and wrote that I had taken a quick break to practice, practice, practice my lettering.

Now here's the dilemma: The lovely Margot/NZ left a very kind comment about the use of the words practice and practise. Practice is the noun and practise is the verb.

Which I totally agree with . . . except I think it depends on where you live.

When I was a kid, I was taught exactly the same rule that Margot/NZ described. I grew up in Southern Ontario, Canada, where I still live. I've noticed in recent years, however, that the s just isn't used around these parts anymore. Which is why I went with practice instead of practise in my post. Also, I understand that in the U.S., practice serves as both the noun and the verb.

After a bit of brief research, however, I've discovered (thanks to Margot!) that the distinction is alive and well and in regular use outside North America.

So, I was going to rewrite my page for Margot as practise, practise, practise. Except that now I'm confused about whether that would be the correct course of action.

I get that I should have written: I took a quick break to practise, practise, practise my lettering (the verb), BUT on my page, I think it should still be practice, practice, practice (the noun). Right? I think? Ack, I'm not sure.

For example, the phrase practice makes perfect is totally clear. In that context, practice is the noun.

But I only wrote the word practice three times, so it's not as clear. Was I referring to the noun practice or the verb practise? Help me out! Which is it? If it should have been practise, I am totally going to rewrite that page!

P.S. Thank you so much for all of the comments on my last two posts. I have stopped by and replied to each of them!

Practice, practice, practice

It has been a quiet sort of day around here, which gave me the chance to start the next batch of journal pages. Mostly, I've been working on lightning round questions - my absolute favourite thing. I'll post a few tomorrow!

Also, I took a quick break to practice, practice, practice my lettering.

How is your day going?

5 Ways to follow through on your goals

Okay. So. Wow, I'm a little nervous, guys. This is the finished graphic that I mentioned here and here:

For ages, one of my goals has been to improve my lettering. I absolutely adore anything handwritten and I would love to be able to add more hand-lettered variety to my guided journals. This graphic came about not only as a way to work on my lettering, but also as a reminder of some of the ways I can continue to follow through on this goal.

1. Divide and Conquer - I know my lettering won't improve without a lot of practice. So far, I am nowhere near the level I hope to achieve some day, but the best way to get there is to take it one step at a time, i.e. find one little thing I'm keen to write about (goal-setting definitely fits the bill!) and do it, then pick another little something and write about that next. And so on and so on. I have faith that I will see improvement if I just keep at it.

2. Put Fear in its Place - As I write this post, my heart is thumping and my palms are clammy. There's a little voice in my head suggesting not so gently that I probably shouldn't post this. The composition is not what it should be, the lettering looks amateurish, the colour scheme needs work, . . . But whatever, stupid voice. I'm posting anyway. This is the place where I try stuff out. This is where I come to fail, if necessary. If I wait until I'm not scared, I'll never post again.

3. Expect Setbacks - Yep, stuff gets in the way. Available working hours are few, interruptions are many, crises of self-confidence are frequent. That's life. The only imperative is never to give up.

4. Learn Along the Way - This has been the best part so far. I finally figured out how to scan a drawing and colour it digitally in Illustrator. I have lots more to learn on that subject, but it feels awesome to add a new tool to the kit.

 5. Shout if From the Rooftops - And here we are. This is my rooftop. This is where I pledge to make my goals a reality.

That's my story for now. What goal have you pledged to follow through on?

On my desk . . .

On my desk today: hand lettering a few thoughts about following through on goals. Almost done!

What are you working on?