{"id":1737,"date":"2012-02-10T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2012-02-10T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2012-02-10T01:34:42","modified_gmt":"2012-02-10T05:34:42","slug":"the-ways-we-struggle-jennifer-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/10\/the-ways-we-struggle-jennifer-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ways We Struggle – Jennifer Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click here for an explanation of the The Ways We Struggle guest post series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today’s post comes from Jennifer Rush<\/a>, whose her first two books<\/a> are coming soon: the YA action-thriller Altered<\/i> in Fall 2012, and then the science fiction MG Bot Wars<\/i> in Spring 2013 (as J.V. Kade). She lives in Michigan with her husband and two kids, and loves office supplies (particularly pens), caffeine and bad boys in fiction. Her struggle illustrates the importance of enjoying what we have instead of always looking ahead to the next goal.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

The Way I Struggle by Jennifer Rush<\/font><\/center><\/p>\n

There are so many things I struggle with that when I first started brainstorming this post, I figured it\u2019d be an easy one to write. Not so, because while I may struggle with basic writing things (like world-building) and getting on a consistent schedule (don\u2019t even get me started on my atrocious sleeping habits), those are just surface things. And who doesn\u2019t struggle with time management and writing? I feel like they are a given, especially in the publishing industry. <\/p>\n

So I sat down and dug deeper and realized that what I truly struggle with is wanting what I don\u2019t have. <\/p>\n

When I first started in this business, I wanted nothing more than to sign with an agent and subsequently score a book deal. Preferably a multi-book deal in the high six figures. I couldn\u2019t stand it when someone else got all the things I wanted. Why them? I asked. Why not me?<\/p>\n

Once I finally did sign with an agent, I couldn\u2019t wait to sell my first book. And once I sold my first book, I wanted to sell the next one. And now that I\u2019ve accomplished all those things, I\u2019ve already moved on to my next goal (which I have yet to admit to anyone). <\/p>\n

That same need is not exclusive to my career. It\u2019s part of my everyday life. I may have finally run a mile without stopping (running is another one of my struggles!) but now I want to run one more. And I may have lost ten pounds, but I want to lose five more. Like now. Like yesterday.<\/p>\n

I suppose in some ways this drive to succeed could be seen as a positive thing, and I think in some ways it is. It\u2019s hard to break into the publishing industry, and without that blind ambition, I might not have kept going. But sometimes it consumes my life. I will do whatever I can to get the things I want, but once I have them, the cycle starts over, and I set my sights on the next goal, never allowing myself the time to enjoy what I\u2019ve accomplished. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s something I need to change. I don\u2019t want to live my life feeling like I\u2019m constantly trying to fill a bottomless hole (sometimes with chocolate cake)(chocolate cake makes everything better). There are so many great things happening in my life right now. I have two completely different books releasing in the next eighteen months that I\u2019m excited about, that my editors are excited about. I\u2019m finally writing full time! I have a loving, supportive family behind me. Amazing writer friends. I have nothing to complain about.<\/p>\n

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, \u201cHappiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.\u201d I think that quote sums up my struggle perfectly. Instead of reaching for the next big goal on my long list, it\u2019s time to slow down and enjoy what I\u2019ve already accomplished. <\/p>\n

View all the The Ways We Struggle posts so far<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here for an explanation of the The Ways We Struggle guest post series. Today’s post comes from Jennifer Rush, whose her first two books are coming soon: the YA action-thriller Altered in Fall 2012, and then the science fiction … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1737"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1741,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions\/1741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.megancrewe.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}