Taking Breathers (March Madness Check-In, Day 18) #WIPmadness

 Hello, March Madness Wipsters! How's your progress going now that we're more than halfway through the month?

Say, remember how back on Day 4, I mentioned seeing Sir Patrick Stewart live at Emerald City Comicon in Seattle? Well, another thing he said during his talk really stuck with me.

It was from the story of how he landed the role of Captain Picard. The tale was itself lively and amusing and I'm pretty sure you can find an awesome version of it online somewhere (like, say, HERE - and the fifteen bucks is totally worth it, especially if you watch the Wil Wheaton vs. Paul and Storm dramatic reading and concert). He had a lot of fun things to say. But I'm gushing, so I'll stop now, kthx. ;)

Anyway, what he said that stuck was that he had schooled himself into doing one thing after an audition: he would assume that he did not get the role, and he would then put it completely from his mind by doing something enjoyable to forget it completely. That way, instead of worrying about roles he didn't know if he'd get, if he did manage to land a part, it would be a delightful surprise. (Cue amusing anecdote about how his agent had to hunt him down when he was chosen to be Picard.)

Gee, auditions for roles? Stressing over being chosen? I don't know about you, but to me that sounds a whole lot like the publishing business, don't you?

Digression: So I totally checked out this weekend. Kind of starting with Thursday when DH and I got the chance to see the Canucks play live, things got crazy-busy. Several non-writing commitments reared their heads, and in the off moments, my own mind was thoroughly entrenched in the land of Dobrenica, set deep in the heart of eastern Europe. Sherwood Smith's Blood Spirits was the sequel to Coronets and Steel, and I apologize to my fellow hosts for not checking in much the past few days, but it had me pleasantly mesmerized.

I have just one goal this month, which is to work towards sending out submissions on my YA high fantasy. Last week I mentioned how I needed to rework a major section. Well, the fixes were made and it's now in my critique partner's hands. I know this wasn't as big as an actual submission, but it is the next logical step, and I am waiting. Rather than twiddle my thumbs, I went straight back to work on my non-YA urban fantasy. And then I grabbed a book I'd been wanting to read for some time, and totally fell under its spell.

I feel so much better now!

The more I think about it, the more I realize that for me, this was me taking that break. I shut down the concerns of the outside world and put the worries from my mind.

Have you ever done something similar? Distracted your brain from fixating on possible outcomes of something huge, like a submission, by doing something fun? Speaking as someone who likes to push forward and not let go until I'm done, I totally recommend it. Now I just have to remember that when it comes to *actual* submissions. Baha.

So. Um. What else can I say today? Hm ... I feel like I'm forgetting something.

Oh, yeah. PRIZE TIME! :D

Congratulations to ... *drumroll* ...

Jennifer Pickrell!

Jennifer, head on over to Denise Jaden's blog to pick one of the many fabulous prizes, then be sure to e-mail her at d (at) denisejaden (dot) com with your choice.

And don't forget to check in at Shari Green's blog tomorrow.