Move to a Boot and Have a Hoot by Mikal Dawn

There’s a saying out there. I don’t know where it started, but I know my best friend and I would always repeat it when we were faced with a situation that made us roll our eyes and pull out our hair: “What do you do when you live in a shoe? Move to a boot and have a hoot!” It was our way of encouraging each other to get outside of ourselves and whatever mess we were facing and look at the bright side of things.

Well, this year, I’ve found myself in a situation.

My debut novel published in May 2017. The situation? That was the first book in a series of three, and, well…I haven’t published book two yet. And it’s December 2019. Yikes! In my defense, I’ve written two novellas that go between books one and two. And my husband retired from the military after 21 years and we had to uproot our family again and move to another state. But these? They sound like excuses, don’t they? Because they are. Let me just say it out loud: I’m a procrastinator. And I give in to my anxieties. Often. So now that it’s December, I’ve just royally bombed at NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, held every November), and I’m barely into writing book two after almost three years (but don’t forget those two novellas!), what am I going to do?

Move to a boot and have a hoot.

When we’re faced with challenges in writing—or just life in general—it’s important that we pull ourselves together and look for the good. How do we do that? Well, first, it’s impossible to do it on our own. We need the Author and Finisher of our faith.

1. Lift our problems off ourselves and put them on Christ’s shoulder. “Cast(ing) all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He is our Rock, our Provider. Outside of Him, nothing is possible, so why do we keep trying? Trust Him.

2. Set aside a dedicated time to work through the story (or problem you’re facing). I don’t know about you, but when I’m faced with something, it will often infiltrate everything else I do. It’s always on my mind. But when I set aside time to (a) pray about it, and (b) work through it, I find I’m able to get it out of my head and leave it at Christ’s feet much easier. For writing, this means finding the best time of day, plopping myself on the couch with my laptop, latte, and licorice (red, thank you very much), and really focusing.

3. Celebrate! This is the best part of “moving to the boot and having a hoot!” Looking for the good in things, even if they aren’t directly related to writing or whatever issue you’re facing, really helps with our attitude. Whether it’s going for a jog (yeah, not me thanks!) or throwing yourself a little dance party in the kitchen (definitely my speed—I even had a dance party while cleaning my kitchen this morning), when you find joy in the midst of the hard, that shoe mysteriously turns into a boot, giving you a little more breathing room. 

When we’re faced with challenges in writing—or just life in general—it’s important that we pull ourselves together and look for the good. via @MikalDawn #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting

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Mikal Dawn is an inspirational romance author, wedding enthusiast, and proud military (retired) wife. By day, she works as an administrative assistant for an international ministry organization, runs her kids to all their sports, and drinks lots of coffee. By night, she pulls her hair out, wrestling with characters and muttering under her breath as she attempts to write while dinner is burning. And drinks lots of coffee. When she isn’t writing about faith, fun, and forever, she is obsessively scouring Pinterest (with coffee in hand, of course!) for wedding ideas for her characters.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Mikal now lives in Oklahoma with her husband, Mark, two of their three children, and one lazy, ferocious feline who can often be found taking over her Instagram account. Find Mikal on mikaldawn.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.


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