Those who know me know that I love television. Batman and I, on most nights, wind up on the sofa watching TV together before bed and I kind of love that about us. It might sound lame to others, but for the two of us it’s our favorite and most relaxing way to end the day. Those who really know me know that one of my all-time favorite TV series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yeah, I’m that kind of geeky. It’s a classic. Don’t judge.
As you can imagine, through the magical writing of Joss Whedon, there are numerous quotable lines. I admit that I quote the series often.
Oz: Maybe it’s because of all the horrific things we’ve seen, but hippos wearing tutus don’t unnerve me the way they used to.
Xander: To read makes our speaking English good.
Spike: A bear! You made a bear! Undo it! Undo it!
And many more. Lately I’ve had an Anya quote playing on repeat in my brain.
Anya: I was being patient, but it took too long.
Patience, I am learning, is something I really need to work on. Right now I’m waiting on three other people in order to move forward with my publishing dreams. At the top of my list is my editor, who I know is working very hard to get my manuscript back to me. He has even offered a service to me free of charge because of the extended time and I’m very pleased to take all the help and advice I can get from someone as experienced as him.
Still, the waiting is really getting to me.
I’m being patient, but it’s taking too long, I say in my whiniest Anya voice.
And then I stare at my third manuscript, the one that’s currently being written. The cursor winks at me, coy in its attempts to get me to add more words to the page. My fingers hover over the keyboard and the next sentence bristles in anticipation of life on the page. The cellphone to my right notifies me of a new email and the moment fizzles and deflates into…
You see my point.
I’m at that stage where every fiber of my being is ready to forge ahead and yet I have to wait. I practice patience because it is a practice, something I’m working on. I must improve my ability to be patient.
And so I open that yet untitled third manuscript again and wink back at the blinking cursor. Hello you sexy beast. So we meet again. My fingertip hover over the keyboard and then…