The phrase easy does it took on multiple meanings during a recent desert road trip in my four-wheel-drive sidekick, Betty.
At first, bumping along cow path-width trails, hubby at the wheel and acacia bushes brushing past the doors, the trip was leisurely. Easy. In fact, we truly came across this, an emerald beacon in the brown desert, a gem at the end of all those unmarked dirt trails:
But later, when hubby wheeled us toward a steep peak – end goal: portable ham radio action – easy does it took on a different feel entirely.
“Easy does it, Betty. Easy does it,” I whispered as rocks gave way beneath our tires, crunching and sliding, as dust whorled, as we crested the steep apex. I clamped my eyes shut, but opened them too soon … I looked up and saw only sky (hubby denies this, but I swear we were at a 90-degree angle that pointed us toward the heavens.)
Betty was victorious, even if the ham radio signal was weak (yes, with the 40-foot telescoping pole in Betty’s hitch):
To calm myself (I mean, going down was going to be more terrifying than going up, I was sure), I pulled out the camera. The views were magnificent (Don’t forget to click to enlarge the photos. It’s worth it!):
And though I had worked myself into a near panic about going back down, it turned out just fine at the hands of my skilled-driver husband (and the fearless Betty White). Can you tell from these photos, how steep the mountain really was? (If you can believe it, we had onlookers in another Jeep stop way below on that ribbon of road to watch us ascend).
The final meaning of EZ.-DUZ-IT? Of course it pertains to writing, and in this case, specifically: blogging. My blogging.
EZ.-DUZ-IT. It’s my new mantra (as you may already have noticed). I’ve decided to blog when inspired – and only then. No more rigid posting schedule, no more worrying about what “they” might think, whether it will hurt me as an aspiring author. Why? Because I know I need to dig deep and focus on the real goal: fiction. Writing the book(s), chasing the dream of publication, getting better at craft. And there’s only one way for me (personally) to do it … and that is to eliminate constant distraction. And to focus in the same way my husband did at the top of that hill. Full-on, intense, adrenaline-inducing focus.
For writers, readers: Do you think blogging-by-authors/writers has taken a backseat over the past few years? (To me, it seems awfully quiet out there compared to when I started in 2010). Do you find it hard to be “heard” amongst other writers in the blogosphere? Will you continue the blogging path, or blaze a new trail up a mountain, veering off in new directions, scanning the horizon for your one true goal? Maybe you’ll do both?
