Beginning anew

Today marks the real start of my next wip -- The Proper Response. I will not hear from my editors about A Question of Impropriety until the end of October and I do like to be a good way into my new wip before I hear. This allows me to have objectivity. It is just the way I work.
However, it does mean starting a new story and it is always for me like standing on the edge of a new Black run when one is skiing. You know you need to kick off and do a few turns, get your rhythm but still it is the tantalizing mystery. What lies ahead? So many routes down the mount to choose from. Should you go down the steepest bit, or the more gentle bit, knowing this whole slope is labelled expert for good reason and what looks easy and gentle is often not. Equally, if one chooses the wrong route, one will often have to make adjustments.
Then I think of a book I read years ago about skiing -- Skiing from the Head Down and realise that actually I just need to start and trust my instinct. The longer I linger on the edge, the more fearful I become. I may fall.I may have to retrace my steps.The bumps that look so large from up here are really steps to help me get down the slope. And best of all, because I have some idea of craft, I know I have the skills to get me out of difficulties. I have been down other black diamond slopes of novel writing and have successfully reached the lodge.
Anyway, I have to start today as this wip needs to be wrapped up by 20 December...

Digging Deep

Yesterday the England Rugby squad, aided by Jonny Wilkinson's boot dug deep within themselves and beat the Aussies. Later it was the turn of the French to get a bit of desire and determination and beat New Zealand. I have no idea on the odds that the bookies would have given for both the Aussies and All Blacks to go out at this stage and against such opposition. Both England and France did not have the best start to their Rugby World Cup campaign. England had been within one game of having the worst defence ever of a WorldCup. No longer.
As one of the players said -- no one outside the thirty players in the England's dressing room may have thought they had a prayer, BUT the thirty inside the dressing did. They were convinced of it and went out and played. Played and won.
Self belief is truly important. Self belief means you can put the last match behind and concentrate on the next one. Self belief means that you look forward and do not keep going over past mistakes. It does not mean that you do not try to learn from your mistakes, simply that you do not let those mistakes haunt you. You have to make your job/work as strong as posisble so that you withstand your opponents.
Self-belief is the determination part of my mantra. In order to succeed as a writer, I need to have desire, determination, discipline, dedication and perseverance. It is what makes luck, just as England and France made their luck on the rugby pitch.
Today it is the turn of South Africa v Fiji and Argentina v Scotland. And it will be interesting to see which team digs deep and preseveres. The smart money is on South Africa and Argentina. But then yesterday showed that in rugby, sometimes, the smart money is wrong.