I've just got a new job.
It's really exciting. I'm looking forward to moving on. A new beginning. Out with the old and in with the new, and all those other cliches.
It's a bit like starting a new chapter of a novel. Actually, cancel that - it's more like finishing a novel and starting a new one.
Of course, being more of a writer than a reader, I can't help thinking about how this is a metaphor for the writing process (I know, I can make pretty much anything a metaphor for the writing process).
The old job feels a bit like a novel I tried to write but never managed to finish. I started out with high ambitions. I had a really good idea for how I wanted things to work out. Plus a bunch of characters who seemed really promising. But at a certain point, the plot just never quite worked out and I stopped liking some of the major characters. And when I got to that point, it really was best to just put things aside, stop writing, and start thinking about something else.
It might seem like a defeat but it really isn't. Sometimes it's best to realise things aren't working out and move on. Not every idea for a story is going to end up as a great novel.
Now of course, we're back to square one. Lots of potential. Lots of new ideas about how things will work out. Some new characters who seem really cool. Hopefully this time it will all come together into something great.
But in the meantime, I plan to enjoy a couple of weeks "between jobs". And maybe, the next idea for a novel will also play itself out.
It's really exciting. I'm looking forward to moving on. A new beginning. Out with the old and in with the new, and all those other cliches.
It's a bit like starting a new chapter of a novel. Actually, cancel that - it's more like finishing a novel and starting a new one.
Of course, being more of a writer than a reader, I can't help thinking about how this is a metaphor for the writing process (I know, I can make pretty much anything a metaphor for the writing process).
The old job feels a bit like a novel I tried to write but never managed to finish. I started out with high ambitions. I had a really good idea for how I wanted things to work out. Plus a bunch of characters who seemed really promising. But at a certain point, the plot just never quite worked out and I stopped liking some of the major characters. And when I got to that point, it really was best to just put things aside, stop writing, and start thinking about something else.
It might seem like a defeat but it really isn't. Sometimes it's best to realise things aren't working out and move on. Not every idea for a story is going to end up as a great novel.
Now of course, we're back to square one. Lots of potential. Lots of new ideas about how things will work out. Some new characters who seem really cool. Hopefully this time it will all come together into something great.
But in the meantime, I plan to enjoy a couple of weeks "between jobs". And maybe, the next idea for a novel will also play itself out.
The main problem I’ve found with new jobs is that I tend to over-commit so keen am I to make a good impression and that goes on for months. I’ve never been very good at keeping work in its place. The notion of ‘it’s just a job’ is quite lost on me. Still new starts, clean slates, those I like and I’ve gone back to square one as you put it several times in my life. I think of it in more Sisyphean terms but that’s just me.
ReplyDeleteHi Jim - happy new year to you.
DeleteI know how you feel. But have really high hopes for this one.