One of my goals this year (first mentioned here) is to keep my eyes open for what’s going right in my writing life. It can be so easy to focus on everything else, don’t you think? On rejections, failed queries, long hours, or negative feedback…and yet, when we start looking for it, there are so many things to celebrate in the writing world as well.
I have an ulterior motive in all this: to increase my “positivity,” as defined by Barbara Fredrickson in her book of the same name. (Take the positivity quiz here.) Positivity is like a many-fingered vine, its tendrils twisting through our mood, productivity, family harmony, stress responses, creativity, and more.
So…what right in my writing world this week? I’m still glowing from that Florida trip—two weeks ago now!—and the research I was able to do there. In addition to crab observation, I also spent a day in Crystal River, Florida, where I helped with USGS’s Manatee Health Assessment—capturing, weighing, measuring the manatees that frequent the warm waters of Crystal River every winter. I got to help haul a 1946 pound female, help spot animals from a bridge, add my weight to help subdue a struggling animal before it could injure itself or someone else with its powerful tail.
I got to touch manatee skin, which is rough in some spots and slick with algae in others.
I got to talk to all manner of researchers, wildlife rescue workers, animal trainers, and more, who had traveled to Crystal River to help with the manatee captures and health assessment.
In other words—it was a magical day, the sort of immersive research that I love. And what could be better than studying manatees?
What’s right in your writing life this week? Please share in the comments!
Wow! That is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing your incredible story! Manatees are such beautiful creatures.
I always like reading about your science-related experiences. This sounded like a lot of fun!
What’s going right in my writing world? I wrote a new scene over the weekend. Just typing that out makes me feel like it might not be too significant, but I’ve been stuck for a few weeks trying to get my story to gel and this scene helped pull some key parts together. That’s a win in my book!
Aww! So awesome! I love manatees. Sounds like you had a fantastic trip.
For myself, I’m trying to get my ebook formatted and get things done for the blog tour, so this week writing is taking a backseat to the business of writing.
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Very cool. I’ve always wanted to see a manatee. I’ll live vicariously through you this time.
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[...] manatees, crabs and mangroves—from the past two weeks’ posts, you’re probably starting to think that I [...]