WEDNESDAY WONDERINGS: ANTICIPATION

I’m old enough to remember and appreciate Carly Simon’s song, “Anticipation,” released in November 1971. The fetching photo of Carly on the album cover, at the gate to London’s Regent’s Park, didn’t hurt, either. It became a top 20 single in the US and Canada and was one of her biggest hits.

One of the lyrics in the chorus hit me with particular relevance. I’m at the age to do some self-analysis. I find that it is most often the anticipation of doing something, of taking some significant step, that usually seems worse than the actual event or activity.

That seems to affect my writing in particular. There are things I need to do but don’t enjoy and probably never will. Book marketing is one of those activities. Perhaps if I found a way to do it that was anything like successful it wouldn’t seem like such a chore—but I doubt it.

I have also noticed that sometimes having to write new scenes or chapters in a current work can also seem daunting. The anticipation keeps me from jumping in with joy and spreading my soul on the computer screen, or some such creative endeavor. Yikes!

Back to the Carly Simon song, the chorus says in part, “Anticipation is making me late.” Duh—yeah, it sure is. Dreading what it might be like to do something that needs doing keeps me from doing it—"making me late.” (Sigh)

Almost always, when I grit my teeth and get to it, the writing or whatever it is, I find that it’s nothing nearly as bad as I feared. This isn’t so bad—in fact it’s not bad at all. It’s satisfying to be able to create the scenes I want and piece them together into the stories I’m moved to share with the world. Maybe someday I’ll learn to just do it.

It applies to much more than just writing. In those stories themselves, anticipation can be a two-edged sword. The anticipation of seeing a loved one again is balanced against the dread of failing to make a good impression. Been there, done that too many times. But in my books, anticipation fuels the tension and becomes so satisfying when it gets resolved, especially when a happily-ever-after is the result.

If you want to share the inspiration for this post, here’s the link to Carly’s wonderful song, lyrics, and charming cover included. Enjoy!